Hotaru's Love
by Ice1taru
Summary: Finally, Hotaru finds love. Hotaru/OC
1. Meeting

Title: Hotaru's Love  
Chapter: 1  
Author: Ice1Taru  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: Here I am.. once again, writing a fic.. I've been on vacation, actually.. had to spend some quality time with the tv (aka TRL, Dedicate Live, Real World, SpongeBob Squarepants, City Guys, etc.. ^_^;;) and I've been ever so lazy and school starts in less than a week.. I have SO many things to do before then.. Anyway, I was at this sailor saturn site where I found out that Hotaru grows up to marry some dude named Shino. But that sux coz I dunno his last name, the color of his eyes/hair, or anything else about him. All I know is that he's a poet.. blah, how FRUSTRATING.. (^_^;;) hehe yeah, ne wayz, I'm gonna stop talking now. Enjoy.  
  
Lady EvilNess: Drastic measures, HA! Ha, I say. This is the Hotaru story that I've been babbling about for like a month now. I had to start this story form scratch, coz my computer is.. gone.. *sighs unhappily* GONE! Anyway, if the next chapters for "Accidents Change People" and "Return To Tokyo" aren't out soon, you won't be the only one taking drastic measures. *sticks out tongue at kat*  
  
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Hotaru's Love by Ice1Taru  
  
Hotaru stuggled to keep up with the crowd. Everyone was moving so fast, she wondered what the rush was for. Her sides were aching and everytime someone bumped into her, it took her all not to yelp. Sighing a breath of relief, she crossed the street and walked into the usual bustle of students. It was oddly quiet that day. Everyone, mostly the girls, were whispering excitedly about something. Wondering what it could be, Hotaru walked into the main building of the school and went to her locker.   
  
She cringed as she looked at the pink flyer on her locker. Infact, all the lockers had pink flyers on them, announcing the Valentine's Day Dance. Gingerly plucking the flyer off her locker, she crumpled it up into a ball in one hand as she opened her locker with the other. The bell rang, signaling first period to begin. Hotaru quickly grabbed her english book, slammed the locker shut and ran into her first period class, which was located right around the corner from her locker.  
  
Hotaru gasped for breath as she slumped into her seat in first period. Sure, her locker was right around the corner, but she was weak and tired quickly. All of a sudden, the normally chattering room full of students went quiet. Hotaru looked up from her desk as a boy of about 6 feet, gray eyes, and ebony hair walked into the room. Hotaru gasped as his stormy gray eyes looked into her amethyst ones, and she saw a twinkle in his eyes, a twinkle that could only mean one thing; obnoxiousness. Maybe he's Ainu, Hotaru thought. He looked wild, untame and yet he looked peaceful and poetic at the same time. Hotaru blushed and ducked her head quickly. She felt warm all over. Why did she have butterflies in her stomach all of a sudden?  
  
"Class, this is Shino..", Sensei-Izu started. (AN: sorry, i dunno his last name.) Shino continued to gaze into Hotaru's eyes, as Hotaru gazed into his. "He's transferred here from the Kuril Islands." Aha, Hotaru thought, I was right, he IS Ainu. "Shino? would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself?... Shino?", the sensei looked quizzically at Shino. "Huh? Wuh?", Shino said dazed as he broke away from Hotaru's gaze. "Nope. Got notin ta say. Hey, umm, can I sit over dere?", he questioned as he pointed to the seat next to Hotaru's. "Of course, Shino, you can sit next to one of my best students, Hotaru", Sensei-Izu said cheerfully.  
  
Hotaru's stomach did a somer-sault, he was going to sit right NEXT to HER. Shino walked to the back of the room, where Hotaru sat. He tried not to look around, all the girls were staring at him, with hearts in their eyes. He sat down in the seat next to Hotaru. Sensei-Izu had to go to the office for a minute, so she left the students in the classroom all by themselves. Shino looked around the room, satisfied. He loved to make girls melt, and apparently every girl in the room was practically drooling all over him, every girl except Hotaru. He sat in his seat, trying not to look at her. All he could think about was how she made his heart do cartwheels in his chest.  
  
Hotaru decided this was the perfect time to read the Valentine's Day flyer, even though she hated Valentine's, mainly because she never had anyone to spend it with. She carefully unfolded the flyer and layed it flat on her desk. All the words looked messed up now, maybe she shouldn't have crumpled it up like that, but she couldn't help it, she had been angry. But not anymore, now she was content, yet she felt unhappy. Shino could never like her. He seemed like the playboy/thug type. Even though she thought she could never have him, she still thought about him.   
  
On the outside, she looked like if she were reading the flyer, or so Shino thought. On the inside, she was aching to run her hand through his silky, thick hair.   
"Hey..," Shino began.   
"...Hi," Hotaru stated, not knowing how to talk to a boy, she usually hung out with her best friends; Lina, Misato, Amber and Ry.   
"How you doin'? Shino asked casually.   
"Fine, you?" Hotaru replied, looking at the flyer, still trying to make out the date when the dance was going to take place.  
"Fine, just fine..," Shino said, letting his words linger.  
"Aha! February 14! Exactly on Valentine's Day," Hotaru said looking closely at the flyer, now intent on finding out where it would take place.  
"Valentine's Day? Is there a dance? Are you going?" Shino asked.  
"Yup. Yup. Nope," Hotaru said, answering all his questions nonchalantly.  
"Why not?" Shino asked. I wonder why she's not going, Shino thought, trying to figure out why she wasn't going. (AN: lol)  
"Ionno," Hotaru shrugged and looked up at him intently. He looked sad all of a sudden, the twinkle in his eyes was gone. Yet he still looked very handsome, his hair was falling over his eyes and Hotaru didn't think she could hold back any longer, she JUST had to touch his hair and see how it felt.   
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
"I was just wondering.. would you like to go to the dance with me?" Shino asked anxiously...  
  
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AN: ...CLIFF HANGER! hehe. *evil laugh* Yea, if you're wondering if Hotaru's gonna accept his invitation, then uh, you'll have to wait a while, coz I dunno if I'm going to continue this story, it depends.. ne wayz, R/R pretty please? Ya, so um, take care n keep on reading.. ^_^v  
  
P.S. Oh, I just remembered, all of you people who reviewed my other story, Insanity, I am SO grateful, I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am.. so grateful.. *rambles on and on about how grateful she is..* 


	2. Uncertainty

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 2  
  
Author: Ice1Taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: Right! I'm back, peeps! Yeah, do I guess I should apologize for just leaving without a trace, but well, I'm here now and that's what counts, right? Right! I'm sorry, I hope everyone can forgive my irresponsibility, I've just been so busy with school and homework and whatnot, and I just haven't gotten a chance to do anything actually, but I'm back! The sequel to "Insanity" is half done! *crowd cheers* Yeah, so enough of my ramblings, let's carry on, shall we.. Oh, also, I lost chapter 2, heh, I'm redoing it, hope ya like.. see ya at the bottom..  
  
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Ending of last chapter..  
  
"Valentine's Day? Is there a dance? Are you going?" Shino asked.  
  
"Yup. Yup. Nope," Hotaru said, answering all his questions nonchalantly.  
  
"Why not?" Shino asked. I wonder why she's not going, Shino thought, trying to figure out why she wasn't going. (AN: lol)  
  
"Ionno," Hotaru shrugged and looked up at him intently. He looked sad all of a sudden, the twinkle in his eyes was gone. Yet he still looked very handsome, his hair was falling over his eyes and Hotaru didn't think she could hold back any longer, she JUST had to touch his hair and see how it felt.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"I was just wondering.. would you like to go to the dance with me?" Shino asked anxiously...  
  
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Hotaru's Love by Ice1Taru - Chapter 2  
  
"Uhh.. I dunno.. maybe.. heh..," Hotaru started.  
  
"Wha....?!" Shino asked confused. Never in his life had a girl ever turned him down. Never had a girl ever said "maybe" to him, 'Oh, HELL no', he thought. Apparently, this girl didn't know who she was talking to. He would show her.  
  
Just then, Sensei-Izu walked back into the room and the bell rang, the whole period had gone by so fast. Hotaru quickly rushed out of the room, hoping Shino wouldn't follow her, which he didn't. She felt disappointed, in an odd/twisted way, she had wanted him to follow her..  
  
The rest of the day went by slowly. More slowly than usual. One of the reasons why school sucked.  
  
Hotaru walked home from school that day, in a daze, thinking about Shino. She imagined his jet-black hair, falling all over his eyes, those beautiful pools of gray, with a that special twinkle. Hotaru sighed. If only he would like her, she would be the happiest girl to ever walk the Earth. She wondered what if would feel like to be in his arms. She sighed again. If only..  
  
In another part of town, Shino was also walking home from school, thinking about Hotaru. He sighed unconsciously, thinking about her amethyst eyes, how uncertain she had looked when he had asked her out. Even if he did have a big ego, he still liked her. Her beauty sparked his imagination. She seemed so weak and small and alone and.. and.. he wanted to help her, be there for her, hold her in his arms and never let her go. If only..  
  
Hotaru walked into her house, more like mansion. Her father, who was a scientist, needed a big place to live so that he could perform his experiments at home and not be away form Hotaru, he loved her more than anything, especially since her mother died. Also, he had always wanted to know what it would feel like to live in a big place and he had wanted for Hotaru to have everything, to be comfortable in life, not like he had been when he was a young boy. His father had to work three jobs just to support his family and his mother was constantly in bed, and eventually had died when young Tomoe was merely 5 years old.  
  
"Papaaaa!" Hotaru called, hoping he wasn't in any of his labs doing experiments again. He worked way too much, but she loved him nonetheless. "Papa!"  
  
"Hello Hotaru," Professor Tomoe said coming out of one of the rooms in the long corridor. "Let's go into the kitchen, I need a drink, it's way too hot in that laboratory."  
  
"Okay," Hotaru replied as they walked into the kitchen. She fixed them both strawberry smoothies, sat down at the counter, and took a sip of her smoothie; enjoying the cold, refreshing taste.  
  
"How was school?" Professor Tomoe asked as he also took a sip of his smoothie.  
  
"It was okay, Papa, nothing interesting happened, really," Hotaru answered. 'Nothing interesting? Hahahaha, Are you saying that Shino is not interesting?' Her conscious mind asked her. 'Of COURSE he's interesting! I never said that he WASN'T interesting'  
  
"Hotaru, dear, you look angry, are you all right?" Professor Tomoe's concerned voice interrupted Hotaru's thoughts.  
  
"Er, yes, Papa, I was just thinking..," Hotaru answered calmly as not to alarm her father.  
  
"Oh, okay.. but, you know that if anything's wrong, you can talk to me, right?" Professor Tomoe said.  
  
"Of course, Papa, don't worry, it's nothing.. really.. I'm going to do my homework now..," Hotaru responded. She smiled brightly as her father and walked back up to her room as Professor Tomoe walked back to his laboratory to finish his experiment.  
  
Hotaru walked up the stairs quickly, trying not to spill her smoothie. She opened the door to her room, stepped inside, closed the door, and placed her smoothie on top of her worktable. She changed into a comfortable pair of old jeans and a purple 3/4-sleeved shirt. She opened the French doors to her balcony and walked outside. Taking a breath of fresh air, she looked out at the great view of the lake that was practically right next to her house. As she looked up at the sky, she could have sworn she saw a picture of Shino winking at her from a cloud. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind and failing miserably.  
  
Shino walked into his apartment. Well, actually, it wasn't just his apartment, he shared it with his brother. His brother was a sophomore at Tokyo Technical College, which was a mere few blocks away from their apartment. When Shino had turned 16, his parents had decided to move from the Ainu islands of Japan to England. Not wanting to leave his home country, which he dearly loved, Shino had decided to stay with his older brother so that he wouldn't have to move. Finally, after his parents' consent, he had successfully moved into the apartment a few months after turning 16. Now, mind you, it wasn't a dorm room-sized apartment either, it was a huge apartment. Very well paid for by Shino's parents, of course, how else would a 16-year-old and 20-year-old get ALL that money.  
  
Shino walked into his room and looked around at the mess. He sighed as thoughts of Hotaru clouded his mind once again. This time, he imagined what it would be like to kiss her lips, which looked like the most beautiful rose petals, so soft and pink. He began to clean up his room, hoping it would clear his mind. He first tackled dirty clothes on the floor, then his closet, then his bathroom and his balcony. He didn't have any French doors like Hotaru or a lake to gaze upon, but he did have some dark mahogany doors with forest green and gold lining on the edges; and the view form his balcony was pure brilliance, especially at night. He could look out at the city, dark with pretty specks of lights everywhere, sort of like the sky.  
  
Hotaru gazed at her paper, took the last sip of her smoothie, and looked down at her paper; shocked. She had drawn little hearts in the margins of her math homework, and had written Shino's name in every single little heart. It was odd because she hadn't realized when she had changed from doing boring geometry problems to drawing hearts with Shino's name in them. 'Wow, I've fallen.. I've fallen for Shino..,' Hotaru finally admitted to herself. Then she blushed, as if that was too impossible to happen.  
  
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AN: Yup, I got over my lethargic state and finally fixed this chapter up. It's kind of short, but you get to know the main characters more, so yeah.. I think I'm changing this story from what I thought it was going to be in the beginning.. Heh, I don't know if Shino really has a big brother, but hey, it's my story, so *smiles* I can do what I want.. I hope I'll write more chapter soon, more longer chapters.. Keep hope alive! Yeah! Love, peace, and chicken grease.. ^_^v  
  
*~Ice1Taru~* 


	3. Musings

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 3  
  
Author: Ice1Taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: Welcome to chapter 3 of Hotaru's Love.. For my devoted readers, THANK YOU!!!! Well, then, now that that's out of the way, down to business.. Hope you all enjoyed chapter 2, even though it WAS kinda short.. :D I'm planning on making this story at least 10 chapters long.. hmm.. we'll see what happens.. I'm planning on also making the chapters more longer *crowd cheers* lol.. I wish I *had* a crowd.. (-_-") ..Anyways, sorry for my bad grammar skills, I know I suck, but writing from the heart is what outshines writing for the fame.. er, yeah.. whatever.. enjoy..  
  
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Ending of last chapter..  
  
Hotaru gazed at her paper, took the last sip of her smoothie, and looked down at her paper; shocked. She had drawn little hearts in the margins of her math homework, and had written Shino's name in every single little heart. It was odd because she hadn't realized when she had changed from doing boring geometry problems to drawing hearts  
  
with Shino's name in them. 'Wow, I've fallen.. I've fallen for Shino..,' Hotaru finally admitted to herself. Then she blushed, as if that was too impossible to happen.  
  
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Hotaru's Love - Chapter 3 by Ice1Taru  
  
Hotaru grinned. For once, she was going to be honest with herself.. She liked Shino and that was that.. but what if he didn't like her? What if he thought she was ugly or.. or.. shallow? Hotaru sighed dejectedly. She looked out her window. It was dark outside. 'Hmm, probably past dinner time already,' Hotaru thought. But, not feeling hungry, she went into her bathroom, changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth. Glancing at the digital clock on the bedside table, she gasped at the time; it was already 10 o' clock. Had she really spent 5 hours daydreaming about Shino and procrastinating on her homework? Hotaru just rolled her eyes, threw herself into her canopy bed and turned out the lights.  
  
Shino took a glimpse at the platinum watch on his wrist, '10 o'clock already?'.. He went into his bathroom, changed into some comfortable pants, and flung himself into his four-poster bed. He stared at the ceiling for at least an hour thinking about Hotaru before finally falling into a deep slumber..  
  
The next morning, Hotaru woke up unusually early. Glancing at the watch, she groaned, it was only 5: 00 AM. She had wanted to sleep until at least 7 o' clock. Oh, well. Maybe she could get some work done before school. She yawned and stretched and got out of bed. Stumbling over to her worktable, she sat down and once again began working on her geometry homework. This time she wouldn't write his name over and over again. And she wouldn't draw little hearts either. She would do all of the geometry problems, no matter how boring this assignment was. Unfortunately, sleep came over her like a wave comes over an egotistical surfer who shows off after mastering only one wave and a small wave at that. Her head gently landed on the paper, on top of her homework and she dosed off once again to Dream Land to dream of her prince a.k.a. Shino.  
  
Shino stared at his ceiling. He felt refreshed and ready to take on the world. He casually glanced at the clock on his nightstand.. 7:15 AM.. He'd been thinking about Hotaru for the past.. 'half hour'.. he glanced up at his ceiling once again and contemplated the fact that she had been invading his thoughts ever since he first saw her.. He wondered what this could mean.. it either meant that he hated her with all his guts or that he liked her with all his heart.. it was definitely not the first option.. Yup, it was official, he had fallen for Hotaru Tomoe. Now, what to do, what.. to.. do.. He idly toyed with his bed sheets trying to figure out what he was going to do with these newly realized feelings.. Could he go up to her and just tell her how much she made his heart pound? No. That wouldn't work. She would get scared if he was too intimidating. Maybe he could just come up with something really creative and special to tell her that he truly cared for her.. Heh, girls were so confusing, it was never anything simple with them, always the complications. He smiled. But he loved them to death.  
  
Hotaru woke up with a start. Her conscious state had finally caught up with her unconscious mind and not only that, but it had won. She stared down at her math homework and then stared at the clock on her bedside table, 7:30!! If she didn't hurry up, she would be late for school. School started promptly at 8. No exceptions. The teachers didn't care if you were having boy problems or lack thereof. All they cared about was checking papers and embarrassing you in front of the whole class by calling on you when you didn't know the answer and they knew that you didn't know the answer, yet you were their only form of amusement, so you were stuck.. How awful the life of a high schooler was. Hotaru sighed contentedly. Yet, how wonderful the life of a high schooler could be too, *cough* Shino *cough*.. She quickly finished up her geometry problems, ran to the bathroom and washed up, changed into suitable clothing (a pair of black bell bottoms, a white tank top, a black leather jacket and some jewelry), grabbed her back pack, ran down the stairs, grabbed a piece of toast, gobbled it up, drank a cup of orange juice, and ran down the street until she was a block away from school to catch her breath. She did all this in 15 minutes.. Impressed with herself, she crossed the street and walked towards the school..  
  
Shino looked around for his shades. He knew he had put them on the table the other day when he had come into his room dazed, thinking about Hotaru. Or maybe it wasn't the table, maybe he had thrown them into his closet or put them on his bed and they had fallen under the bed. Kneeling down so that he was on all fours, he looked under his bed. Groaning loudly, he got up and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He winked at himself, 'damn I look good, I dunno how Hotaru resists me.' (AN: What I did tell you about that ego of his?) He laughed out loud at himself and ran into his walk-in closet, looking around frantically for his shades. He was so gonna be late for school. The teachers didn't care that he looked good and they didn't care if he embarrassed himself in front of Hotaru, damn bastards. Someday, they'd get theirs.. He groaned again as his shades were nowhere to be found in the closet, he ran over to his dresser and rummaged through all of his drawers, 'damn shades'. Finally, he opened the last drawer, all the way at the bottom and they were lying there, innocently, on top of everything.   
  
"Aha!" Shino said as he held them up as if they were some sort of prized treasure, which they were, to him, no doubt about that. He wondered how they had gotten there, shrugged, grabbed his back pack, glared at the clock which read 7: 50 AM and hauled ass to school. He couldn't be late on his second day at his new school.  
  
Hotaru walked into the school, looking around casually, trying to be inconspicuous. Lina came up behind her and tapped her gently on the shoulder. Hotaru jumped practically a mile. "Sheesh, I didn't even have to say 'boo' or anything," Lina laughed, causing Hotaru to groan, "You scared me." "Well, that's obvious, Captain Conspicuous, who were you looking around for?" Lina questioned. "Er, no one--," Hotaru stopped abruptly. Shino came turned the corner and walked up to his locker, which was about 10 lockers away form where Hotaru was standing. Hotaru smiled unconsciously. Shino suddenly turned around and grinned at Hotaru. The world stood still for what seemed like eternity. Shino and Hotaru both unaware of the world around them. Each was only conscious of the other and nothing else. Then, finally, Lina arched a perfect blonde eyebrow and pulled on Hotaru's hair gently, yet firm at the same time as not to hurt the semi-purple- headed girl. Hotaru turned around, and glared at Lina, loosing eye contact with Shino, causing him to shake his head abruptly and go back to his ever-so-interesting locker.   
  
"Geez, Lina, why in the damned hell did you just do that?!" Hotaru bit out harshly, then covered her mouth with a delicate hand, "I'm SO SO SO SO sorry, Lina, Oh my god! I don't know what came over me. I.. I.. Whoa.."  
  
Lina sighed, "It's quite alright actually, I think you owed me that one, like remember the time when I was dating Eddy? I practically ignored you every time he came around."  
  
"Err, yeah..," Hotaru looked back at Shino, who gave her one last grin and whistling happily, went on his merry way down the hall and around the corner where their first period was. Hotaru sighed happily. She quickly grabbed her English book form her locker, shut the door with a bang, and walked faster than intended to her first period where Shino was heading, with Lina hot on her heel, asking questions about what the hell was going on.  
  
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AN: Yeah, go me, it's my birthday, go me, it's my birthday. Hehe, two chapter and one short story done in the same two days. Even if the chapters were a bit short.. I apologize for that, I hope I'll get longer chapters out soon, but I don't think so, we'll see.. As you may have noticed (or as you may not have noticed), I put a lot of detail into my stories, I hope no one's annoyed. I'm just trying to paint a picture for you in words, so you can see what I see.. 


	4. Poetry

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 4  
  
Author: Ice1Taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: I'm (dun dun dun) BACK! I know I haven't been able to do anything because first of all, it's summer and I (unfortunately) have other commitments and secondly, as hard as it may be to believe, my summer's actually been eventful (with tedious things), but I have to do them so I'm stuck. Anyways, enough about me, I'm back and ready to rock. Sorry for those of you who got your hopes up about me updating alot coz I was on a roll for like a few hours. But school starts in like a month, and I'll probably be busy again, so yeah, SORRY..  
  
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Ending of last chapter..  
  
"Err, yeah..," Hotaru looked back at Shino, who gave her one last grin and whistling happily, went on his merry way down the hall and around the corner where their first period was. Hotaru sighed happily. She quickly grabbed her English book from her locker, shut the door with a bang, and walked faster than intended to her first period where Shino was heading, with Lina hot on her heels, asking questions about what the hell was going on.  
  
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Hotaru's Love by Ice1Taru - Chapter 4  
  
Shino slowly dragged himself into the room. He hated first period. The only thing good about it was the fact that he had Hotaru for that period, and she sat right next to him. Otherwise, he would skip first period. He could probably go play hockey with his brother and his friends instead of being in school and learning about Shakespeare and other dead guys that wrote poetry; not to say that he disliked poetry or anything because every once in a while, he would be hit with inspiration and he would pour his heart out through pen and paper.  
  
Hotaru followed Shino into the room, still trying to be inconspicuous. Of course, by now, Lina had figured out that Hotaru had a mad crush on Shino. Heh, maybe not just a crush, but more. She had seen how Hotaru stared at Shino and sighed constantly on their way to their first period. It was kinda.. scary.. Hotaru had never (ever ever ever) acted that way before, not even close to it. And now, all of a sudden, this guy just pops up outta no where and Hotaru's hooked. Can you say 'Whoa'? Lina trailed Hotaru into the room and sat down at her seat towards the middle of the class as Shino and Hotaru went to the back and sat down in their seats next to each other. Lina suddenly felt a pang of.. something.. tug at her heart as she watched them. She couldn't identify the emotion that had suddenly gripped her. All she knew was that it was a painful emotion. It felt as if a cold, icy hand had gripped her heart and then suddenly let it go. Lina shuddered and looked away. She looked outside at the sunshine, it was a beautiful day. Why had she felt as if it was raining on her? ONLY on her? Lina shuddered again at her thoughts.  
  
Shino glanced sideways at Hotaru, who was curiously glancing at Lina. Lina had shuddered twice. Hotaru wondered what could be wrong. After a moment of being lost in thought, she shrugged and looked at Shino, who was now looking at her as if she was an ice cream cone and he was a five-year-old dying for some sugar. Hotaru giggled at his expression, he looked funny, she couldn't help it. Her laughter cut through Shino's thoughts and he shook his head. He had been doing that a lot lately. Thinking about her, and then shaking his head to clear his thoughts, it was unusual. He felt like an idiot, as if he had no control over his emotions what-so-ever.  
  
Sensei-Izu came into the room and sort of leaned against her desk in the front of the class, idly looking around at all of her students, then casually looking at the clock on the wall which just happened to be behind her desk. There were still two minutes still the bell. 'Oh, well' she thought, 'might as well start the class now and cut this loud chatter, teenagers talk WAY too much', "Okay, class, today we're going to--"  
  
"But the bell hasn't rung yet, so, technically, school hasn't started yet, so technically, this class hasn't started yet, so technically, you don't have authority over us for another minute and 45 seconds, so techni--," One of the students protested, but was cut off by Sensei-Izu. "Mr. Kiwazaki, please be quiet, as long as you are in my classroom, I DO have authority over you, and you DO have to do what I say or you WILL get a detention, and none of that was technical," Sensei-Izu stated sternly, "Now, then.. as I was saying before I was RUDELY interrupted," she glared at Yani Kiwazaki for a brief second and then continued, "The Valentine's Day dance is coming up in two weeks," at this, Shino nonchalantly glanced at Hotaru as she purposefully tried not to look at him, "The principal has made me committee adviser of this dance, if any of you are interested, please let me know, so far, no one has signed up to be in the dance committee, I wonder why..," Sensei-Izu said disheartedly, she hated being committee adviser.  
  
Since there were no other news, the beginning of classes began, just as boring as any other day.  
  
After school, Hotaru walked home from school, dragging her feet as she walked. It had been such a boring and uneventful day, she felt bored and sleepy throughout all of her classes, except the ones where Shino was present. Lina appeared out of nowhere behind Hotaru, and once again, scared the hell out of her without even saying anything. Just a simple tap on the shoulder made Hotaru jump these days.  
  
"I can't believe you like Shino," Lina said conversationally.  
  
"Er, yeah.. I guess.. I mean, I dunno him that well.. but.. umm.. I mean, what's not to believe?" Hotaru replied with uncertainty.  
  
Lina stared at Hotaru, eyebrows raised. Usually, Hotaru would never admit things like this. Shino was definitely bringing out a wild side out of Hotaru. In the two days that he had been here, Hotaru had turned somewhat bold and changed.  
  
"I can't believe that a guy has changed Hotaru Tomoe, my own best friend," Lina implored quietly, "I'm the boy crazy one, remember? I'm the one whose constantly changing. Not you." Lina gasped. Now she knew why she had shuddered in class so much. She had been scared of losing her best friend to a guy. She drew in a shaky breath and tried not to look Hotaru in the eye.  
  
"Aw, Lina, I'm not changed. I'm just developing, growing. I can't be silent all my life. I have feelings, too. I'm a human being after all. And no matter what happens, you and I will always be best friends. Guy or no guy," Hotaru announced, "Speaking of best friends, have you been in touch with ours? Have Amber or Ry called from London? I haven't had a chance to call in the past few days because.."  
  
'I've been too busy thinking and drooling over Shino', Hotaru finished to herself guiltily.  
  
"Because what?" Lina asked casually, already knowing the answer.  
  
"Because.. Because I've had way too much homework, geometry is killing me," Hotaru stated blushingly, causing Lina's mouth to pop wide open. 'I HAVE changed, I'm lying shamelessly to my best friend. Ugh, what am I becoming?,' Hotaru thought sadly, 'No, I'm not going to lie to my best friend,' Hotaru decided suddenly, "Actually, Lina, I've been too busy thinking about Shino, I'm sorry I lied. I suck."  
  
"Hmm.. You are so gonna have to make it up to me for lying.. Oh, and I already knew about Shino," Lina finally looked into Hotaru's eyes.   
  
Hotaru sighed audibly. Thank god Lina was the calm type and only got violent when people messed with her for not reason. Hotaru hugged Lina tightly.   
  
"I'm so glad you're my best friend, Lina-chan," Hotaru said after a few moments of silent hugging.  
  
"I'm glad you're my best friend, too, Taru-chan," Lina replied, "Don't let Shino come between us."  
  
"I won't," Hotaru told her.  
  
"Yo, ladies! ..Hotaru! Wait up!" A voice shouted from about a 10 feet away. Shino stopped and rested his hands on his knees, catching his breath. Hotaru and Lina both turned around at the same time and watched Shino catch his breath for a few seconds. He hadn't played hockey in a while, no wonder his running was so rusty. He would have to stop by the arena during the weekend and practice. "Right, and uhh, how are you lovely ladies doing this fine.. afternoon?" Shino asked offhandedly as he walked up to them while looking at Hotaru the whole time.  
  
"We're fine. Wussup wit you? Why were you running?" Lina answered for the both of them, eyeing Shino up and down like a hawk.  
  
"Nothin's up wit me. Wussup wit you? Oh, yeah. Well, you see, in order to catch up to someone who is far away, you have to increase your speed in order to catch up with them if they are walking at a constant rate," Shino said semi-sarcastically, while still looking at Hotaru. Hotaru, who had been staring at Shino the whole time, grabbed the hood of Lina's jacket because she knew that any moment now, Lina would make him pay for his rudeness. She had a tendency to get into fights. The last thing Hotaru wanted/needed was a fight between the guy she was crushing and her best friend.  
  
Lina growled, "Boy, you're just lucky that Hotaru's holding me back, otherwise, you would be bent over in pain right now," and she moved toward him slightly and raised her right knee. Shino eyed her knee warily, but kept his feet firm on the ground. He had aquired worse injuries while playing hockey. Besides, all he had wanted was to see Hotaru, say 'hi', complimanet her, and walk her home. He hadn't expected her scary best friend to be there with her. The evil bitch, if she got in his way, she would pay dearly.   
  
Shino's dark thoughts were interrupted as Hotaru coughed to release the tension a little bit. He had forgotten to be a gentlemen. He mentally kicked himself. He wouldn't mess up again. He looked at Hotaru with an apologetic smile and she smiled back, letting him know it was okay. Shino felt his heart skip a beat. Lina watched the exchange between the two would-be lovers and rolled her eyes. She wasn't over the whole loosing-her-best-friend-over-a-guy thing yet.   
  
"Right. You all just stand there like idiots. Im goin' home. Hotaru, buddy, call me later and we can.. uhh.. TALK?" Lina muttered, knowing none of them had heard her (they were too busy staring at each other) and stormed off toward her house in the opposite direction. After a minute of staring at each other, Shino asked, "So, shall we walk then? To.. your house? Together? Side by side?"  
  
Hotaru giggled. He was so cute. She could tell he was nervous, "Sure."  
  
"Okay," Shino replied, relieved. He thought she was laughing at him when she giggled.   
  
Had he said something funny?  
  
They started walking towards Hotaru's house, in a comforting silence. No words were exchanged, for fear that they would ruin the moment. Ocassionally, one would look at the other without the them noticing. Much too soon, they arrived at Hotaru's house.  
  
'Now or never,' Hotaru thought anxiously, "Shino, will you take me to the dance?" She asked as they stood on her front porch, a a light wind passed around them, gently tousling their hair. How embarrassing it would be if her father all of sudden came out and saw them not be able to take their eyes off each other. Hotaru sweatdropped mentally at the image that popped up in her head of her father realizing that Hotaru had taken interest in a boy from school. He had taken for granted the fact that Hotaru didn't have many friends and was not usually interested in boys.  
  
"I.. you.. wha.. uhh.. we.. huh.. oh.. um..," Shino's fruitless attempt to say "yes" was failing. Realizing that his mouth would not function properly as long as she stood there anxiously waiting for him to speak, her beautiful hair whipping about her face, Shino tried to think of other forms of communication. He COULD just kiss her right there and then, that would loosen his tongue a bit or he could try sign language, which he had no knowledge of what-so-ever. The first option seemed so tempting, it took all his might just to gain control of himself. The latter option wouldn't work either. So, he did the easiest thing a person can do when they are nervous and wish to speak but their tongues have boycotted talking, he nodded his ebony head. He could see this had taken a toll on Hotaru, who gave a squeal of delight, kissed him on the cheek and rushed inside, slamming the door behind her harder than she had intended for her excitement was at an unusual high.  
  
Shino stood there for a good 30 seconds, his hand on his cheek where Hotaru had kissed him. He couldn't believe it. She had kissed him. Her petal-like lips were velvety and soft. If a kiss on the cheek was this good, he couldn't wait to see what it would be like to kiss her on the lips. Grinning at the thought, he made his way back home.  
  
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AN: Well, hope ya liked. Even though I have been busy, I would like to say that I will never be too busy to come back to writing, especially this story. I'm gonna go now and work on the fifth chapter. Later.  
  
Lady Ice a.k.a. Ice1Taru *winks* 


	5. Girl Talk

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 5  
  
Author: Ice1Taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: Heh, never thought I'd actually get this far this soon.. riiiiiiight, so this chapter shall be known as the "girl talk" chapter, lol, sorry Shino isn't here that much in the beginning.. but don't worry, he'll be here soon enough.. yeah.. so.. don't got much else ta say.. more notes at the bottom.. enjoy..  
  
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Ending of last chapter..  
  
Shino stood there for a good 30 seconds, his hand on his cheek where Hotaru had kissed him. He couldn't believe it. She had kissed him. Her petal-like lips were velvety and soft. If a kiss on the cheek was this good, he couldn't wait to see what it would be like to kiss her on the lips. Grinning at the thought, he made his way back home.  
  
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Hotaru's Love by Ice1Taru - Chapter 5  
  
"So, when are you gonna tell me what happened?" Lina asked impatiently.  
  
"Tell you what happened?" Hotaru replied blankly. She was still thinking about Shino and how relieved and happy he had looked when she had asked him to take her to the dance. It had been exactly one hour, thirty-six minutes, and nine seconds since she had last seen him. Hotaru sighed for the umpteenth time that hour and thirty-six minutes.  
  
"Hotaru? Hotaru.. Are you still there? HOTARU!" Lina scowled, the billionth time that Hotaru had sighed since she had gotten on the phone with her about an hour ago. Both of them kept on talking about anything but Shino, for they both thought it might cause some sort of argument. But Lina couldn't take it anymore, she was just too curious about what was happening between her best friend and the new boy.  
  
"Yeah, I'm still here," Hotaru said dreamily.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"Hotaru!"  
  
"Ehh.. No need to get excited, I was just, ohm.. I was.. I..," Hotaru sighed again, thinking about how Shino's hair fell into his eyes. His stormy gray eyes. They were just so beautiful.. And his hair, oh, his hair, shiny and probably really soft..  
  
Lina swore and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. She didn't really feel like yelling, but Hotaru's lack of participation in the conversation was making her frustrated and annoyed.  
  
"Mmm, what was I saying again?" Hotaru asked, getting out of her reverie.  
  
"What happened between you and Shino after he walked you home?" Lina asked in an unusually calm voice.  
  
"Oh," Hotaru giggled, "Well, we were on my front porch and we didn't talk much and umm.."  
  
"'And, umm' what?" Lina questioned.  
  
"Well, I-asked-him-to-take-me-to-the-dance-and-he-said-yes," Hotaru whispered in one breath.  
  
"Oh, you asked him out?" Lina asked.  
  
"Oh.. No.. He asked me to the dance the first day when he walked into our class, and I told him maybe because I wasn't sure. I was confused. I thought he was a playboy or something," Hotaru said reminiscently, thinking about their first meeting.  
  
"Ehh.. Playboy, huh? Hotaru's dating a playboy.. My lil girl's all grown up," Lina joked.  
  
"I'm not dating him.. yet.. It's just a dance," Hotaru replied, and told her about how she had kissed him and run inside, "Do you think I was being childish? I mean, I just turned 16, and Shino's probably turning 17 this summer, I'm not sure, though."  
  
"Wait, how do you know that he's turning 17 this summer?"  
  
Hotaru shrugged, "Intuition, I guess. Besides, he's very mature."  
  
Lina snorted, "Mature? Him?"  
  
"Yeah, him."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"He is!"  
  
"Right, right."  
  
"This is ridiculous. Why are we arguing? Anyway, do you think I was childish or not?" Hotaru questioned desperately.  
  
"Depends," Lina answered shortly.  
  
"Linaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Hotaru exclaimed.  
  
"Aite, look. It depends on what you call childish. I mean, people have different levels on their relationships. Like, some couples are so comfortable with each other that they share beds occasionally. Others would be shocked at the thought of sharing a bed with their significant other, thinking that they are too young. By the way, what level do you think you and Shino are on?"  
  
"Lina! We're not even going *out* yet!" Hotaru answered in a rather shocked manner.  
  
"Yeah, whatever," Lina responded offhandedly, "Anyways, we're here talking as if he's going to be your boyfriend, I mean, after the dance, you might realize that you don't even like him," She added as an after thought.  
  
Hotaru sighed. It was true. They had been gabbing away as if he was going to ask her out soon or something. For all she knew, he was playing her. But he wasn't like that, she could tell, she *knew* he wasn't like that. Right? Right?  
  
...  
  
Right.  
  
Shino glanced at the watch on his arm, he had been thinking about Hotaru again. For almost two hours, he had laid in his bed and thought about Hotaru. She definitely liked him. Why would she just be delighted to go to a dance with him? Why would she be so happy just to be going to a DANCE? She *so* liked him. Shino smiled. He would make her his.  
  
"Okay, okay, so what you're saying is that he DOES like me?" Hotaru asked uncertainly.  
  
"Yeah. I mean, you said he was stuttering, right?" Lina asked.  
  
"Yeah.. But weren't you just saying that I might not like him after we go to the dance?"  
  
"Alright, look. Yeah, I did say that, but that was when I was pissed off. I'm deciding I'm going to be happy for you. If you can't depend on me, then whom CAN you depend on?"  
  
"Aww, Lina-chaaaaan."  
  
"Right, don't get all happy-happy-mushy-mushy like. Anyways, you also said that he asked you out on the first day. I mean, DUH! He likes you and he obviously thinks you're hot. And I don't blame him, you're very pretty."  
  
Hotaru blushed, "Well.. umm.. I don't know what to say.."  
  
"Yeah, well. Also, I bet there are tons of girls that would give anything to have your body. I mean, you have the perfect body, WHY WON'T YOU LET ME DESIGN CLOTHES FOR YOU?! My designs would look perfect on you!" Lina asked in a frustrated voice.  
  
"Ehh..," Hotaru blushed again, thinking about how Lina was always bugging her to let her design clothes for her. She knew that Lina wanted to be a fashion designer and own a fashion company.  
  
"Okay, so here's what you do. You're way too innocent. I don't know why, though. I mean, you're down to earth, smart, and that whole.. healing thing.. is WAY cool. You should have like all the confidence in the world. You can pull off any look. Aite, so, we have to go shopping right now--"  
  
"Lina, it's 6 already, it's going to be dark soon," Hotaru interrupted.  
  
"Yeah, so?" Lina questioned.  
  
"Never mind," Hotaru sighed. It was pointless to argue with Lina when she was determined to do something. Besides, Lina was only trying to help her.  
  
"Right, so as I was saying. We'll have to go shopping today and tomorrow. Let's go to Tokyo Central Mall, they have the sexiest clothes in most of the shops. They have clothes that I think will fit your style and they'll look great on you, too. Besides, you have to start looking hot as soon as possible. You dress too modestly. One of the most fun things about being a girl is playing dress-up. Talking of dress up, you also need make up. Hmm, since your complexion is pale, you'll need light make-up," Lina continued, speaking quickly.  
  
"Uh huh," Hotaru stated, "When you say look 'hot', what do you mean?"  
  
"Well, Shino's kind of.. ionno.. bad? So, you're like sugar, you need to spice up your look a little bit. Oooh, this is going to be SO MUCH FUN!" Lina gave a squeal of delight. She loved working with clothes and helping people look their best, this was going to work out great, "Speaking of spice, I don't mean to be rude, I mean, I dunno what your style is with guys coz you rarely date," Lina and Hotaru both sweat dropped at this, "but you need to live a little. Do not be afraid of him. I mean, I bet he's just as scared of you are as you are of him."  
  
"Uh huh," Hotaru said again.  
  
"Okay, enough of the 'uh huh's, what's wrong?" Lina asked exasperatedly.  
  
"Ehh, I dunno. What is he doesn't like me?" Hotaru replied worriedly.  
  
At this, Lina laughed, "Girl, how can you say that? Weren't you listening when I said that you were down to earth, smart, AND pretty? I mean, how many girls have ALL of that?"  
  
"Well, you do," Hotaru answered matter-of-factly.  
  
Lina laughed again, "Well, he's not interested in me. And I will never be interested in him. And besides, I'm not down to earth, I get pissed off really easily--"  
  
"Yeah, but you control it really well," Hotaru interjected.  
  
"Yeah, but I need like anger management classes or something," Lina responded.  
  
"Yeah, but you're pretty and smart, too," Hotaru pointed out.  
  
"Heh, the only reason you think I'm pretty is coz of all my wonderful little make-up friends and you're so much smarter than I am," Lina stated.  
  
"Naw uh, I'm not smarter than you. And you ARE pretty, I've seen you without make-up, your face is very exotic, it would look great without make-up, and you're very clever and creative," Hotaru implored.  
  
Lina sighed. This whole talk about her being wonderful was weird, she didn't like being told these things. She felt that people were feeling sorry for her or something and that that was why they told her these things. Of course, she was wrong, for she really WAS pretty and clever. Finally deciding that this conversation was getting pointless, she said, " Okay, we have to get to the mall right now. Meet me there in five minutes, okay?"  
  
"Okay," Hotaru said, putting on her socks and shoes. She knew why Lina had wanted to end the conversation so quickly, she felt self-conscious, as if people felt sorry for her or something. But Lina was independent, she'd rather earn these things than just have them.  
  
"Hey, lil bro, wanna go to the mall?" Came Satoshi's voice from down the hall.  
  
"Sure, Sato, gimme a second," Shino answered as he got up off his bed and began to dress. He was only wearing pants since he had been planning to fall asleep as soon as possible because he had nothing else to do except think about Hotaru.  
  
As they walked down to Satoshi's car, Shino asked "Why are we going to the mall anyway? It's like 6:30 already, it'll be dark soon." (AN: Notice a pattern?)  
  
"Oh, well. We need some gear since you said you wanted to play hockey with me and the guys on Saturday. And it's Friday already."  
  
"So, what mall are we going to?"  
  
"I thought we should go to Tokyo Central, coz they have that new sports' gear shop, it has everything that we'll need."  
  
"Oh, okay."  
  
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AN: Well, this chapter was SLIGHTLY longer than the other chapters so far. Okay, so I have something to say.. Okay, you know when Lina mentioned the 'whole healing thing'? Well, none of the senshi business will be a part of the story until the later chapters, just so you know. And at this point, Hotaru hasn't told anyone about her being a senshi, and there hasn't been senshi business in like, let's say, a year for her, okay? Okay, well.. I'm done now. 


	6. Mall Time

Title: Hotaru's Love   
  
Chapter: 6   
  
Author: Ice1Taru   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.   
  
AN: Ummm.. yeah.. I have nothing to say.. *blank stare*  
  
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Ending of last chapter..   
  
Okay, so I think you guys can keep up without me telling you what happened last chapter, right?   
  
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Hotaru's Love by Ice1Taru  
  
For two hours, all that Hotaru and Lina did was shop, shop, shop. Pants, shirts, jackets, hoodies, hats; you name it, they bought it. After successfully spending 500 dollars, they put all of their stuff in Lina's car and drove around to the other side of the mall, to the Food Court, where they settled down to ice cream sundaes. Shopping can be hard work, you know.  
  
"You know, this isn't too bad, we should do this again tomorrow," Hotaru commented.   
  
"I know, we will do this again tomorrow and the day after that as well," Lina replied.   
  
"What, oh my god, Lina, we already spent 500 dollars. When Daddy finds out, he's gonna KILL me," Hotaru said, worried all of a sudden.  
  
"Hotaru, we only bought like a few clothes today. I mean, okay, so the clothes cost a lot of money and all, but your father is a scientist, a RICH scientist.. And besides, if he doesn't pay for your clothes, then who will? He's your parent, it's his job. Besides, parents like paying for your stuff because it makes them feel that they have control over your life," Lina said logically, then added as an afterthought, "they like that."   
  
"Yeah.. But.. But..," Hotaru stuttered, trying to think of a way to retaliate to Lina's "reasonable" explanation, she knew there was something wrong about it, she just couldn't figure out what. This was one of Lina's talents, saying something that made no sense at all and made it sound as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world.  
  
Then, out of no where, the double doors of the Food Court opened, and in walked Shino and his brother.   
  
"Don't look now, but your Romeo's here," Lina said urgently, looking intently at Shino, then at Hotaru, "Now listen to me, what ever the hell you do, don't fall for him, let him fall for you. You are a woman, an INDEPENDENT woman.. You can do this, okay?"  
  
Hotaru nodded.   
  
As if sensing Hotaru's presence, Shino turned around and smiling, made his way over to their table as his brother ordered for them.   
  
"Hey," Shino said, draping himself the chair next to Hotaru.   
  
(AN: Notice how guys do that a lot? drape drape. *rolls eyes*)   
  
"Hey," Hotaru and Lina replied, Lina more nonchalantly than Hotaru.  
  
"So, what are you guys doing here?" Shino asked.   
  
"Well, since this IS a Food Court, I'd say we're eating.. FOOD..," Lina retorted. Hotaru giggled. Shino rolled his eyes.  
  
"So, HOTARU," Shino said, looking intently at Hotaru, "Umm, ten more days till the dance."   
  
"Yeah. I can't wait," Hotaru said breathlessly. Now it was Lina's turn to roll her eyes, so much for independence.   
  
"I can't wait either," Shino said, gazing at Hotaru now, who gazed back.  
  
"Right, I can't wait either," Lina added with a yawn, staring pointedly at them both.   
  
"Yeah.. Well.. I have to.. go now," Shino said, kissing Hotaru on the cheek and walking away towards his brother.   
  
"K, bye!" Lina said cheerfully.  
  
After Shino was away from hearing distance, Hotaru yelled "LINA! What was that?"   
  
"What was what?" Lina asked innocently.   
  
"Ugh!" Hotaru said and stormed out the Food Court.  
  
Lina followed shortly to find Hotaru sitting in the passenger seat of her car with her arms crossed defiantly across her chest, scowling. Trying not to look amused, Lina sat in the driver's seat and looked at Hotaru closely, "How come you didn't drive away?"  
  
Hotaru mumbled something incoherent.  
  
"What?" Lina asked, arching an eyebrow.  
  
Hotaru mumbled something incoherent again.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that," said Lina, trying not to sound anumsed.  
  
"I can't drive," Hotaru said feebly.  
  
At this, Lina contained herself from throwing her head back and laughing, "How come you can't drive?"  
  
"Daddy never taught me how to, I think he was scared or something," Hotaru muttered.  
  
"Man, Daddy need ta learn ta let go, ya heard? You can't spend a lot of money on clothes, you can't drive. What's next, no dating?" Lina asked exasperatedly.  
  
"Well..," Hotaru began.  
  
"No fucking way. Don't tell me you can't date, girl. What about Shino?! He deserves a chance, you know," Lina retorted.  
  
"Heh, calm down. I guess I can date, but Dad's just gonna have a hard time excepting it," Hotaru said.  
  
"Oh.. Well.. Okay..," Lina said in relieved tone.  
  
"By the way, why were you defending Shino?" Hotaru asked in an oddly serene way.  
  
"Ehh, didn't notice I did.. my bad..," Lina responded, laughing, her hand behind her head.  
  
"Right," Hotaru said in the same serene voice.  
  
"Whatever, we are so outta here," Lina said, starting the ignition.  
  
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AN: Yes, yes, it is true, I AM the queen of short chapters. I know you must be frustrated and I'm sorry, really, I am.. I mean, it's frustrating for me, too, coz.. well.. you know, typing is hard work.. yeah..  
  
*~Ice1Taru~* 


	7. Bad News

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 7  
  
Author: Ice1taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: Sooo.. it's been awhile.. but I'm back. I always come back.  
  
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Hotaru's Love by Ice1taru  
  
His head was starting to feel heavy, everything was spinning and all of a sudden... he fell. A wave of relief washed over him as he slipped into unconsciousness and his body became numb. Everything went black.  
  
"..so if you match this shirt with these pants, you would look like...................... the biggest whore.. BUT.. at least Shino will notice you," Lina said as she picked up a red lace spaghetti strap shirt and a pair of tight black leather pants. It was a cool Saturday night. The girls had spent the whole day shopping and were planning on going again the next day.  
  
Hotaru picked up the shirt and held it up in front of her in front of the mirror.  
  
"So, like.. what do you say?!" Lina exclaimed as she dumped another shopping bag of clothes onto Hotaru's bed.  
  
"I say I like it," Hotaru said and grinned.  
  
"At a girl, I knew I would influence you some day in some way, just didn't know it was gonna come this soon. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be an all-time slut! I mean.. you'll be an all-time person with.. STYLE!! Hahaha!" Lina giggled.  
  
Hotaru rolled her eyes.   
  
"Oh, shit! Oh, shit! oh shit oh shit oh shit!!! SOMEBODY CALL 911!!" Satoshi shouted over his friends, who were all huddled around Shino. He wasn't moving at all and he didn't look like he was breathing either. Blood was covering his stomach, Satoshi guessed that he had broken a few ribs. Hopefully, everything else was intact.  
  
"I'm bored," Lina mumbled, her head resting lazily on one of Hotaru's pillows.  
  
"I'm bored, too," Hotaru said as she looked around for the tv remote, "damn, I know it's here somewhere."  
  
"I wish something would happen," Lina looked up at Hotaru, "do something," she commanded.  
  
"I am doing something, I'm looking-- IIIII fooooouuuuund iiiiiiittttttt," Hotaru replied in a sing-song voice and turned on the tv.  
  
"Woop dee doo, hooray for you."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Don't tell me to shut up!"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
Lina threw a pillow at Hotaru and closed her eyes, hoping to sleep, "So bored, let's so something."  
  
Hotaru raised an eyebrow and glanced at the clock on the wall behind Lina, "It's eleven. PM."  
  
"So? Hey, let's go shopping again," Lina asked, frustrated that they had nothing to do.  
  
"OH. MY. GOD," Hotaru stopped channel surfing and turned up the volume.  
  
"What?" Lina picked her head up off the bed long enough to see what looked like Shino's brother on tv and an ambulance behind him. The anchor was asking Shino and his friends questions, "You don't think…"  
  
"Oh. My god," Hotaru said again, "we have to get over there!"  
  
"It's ELEVEN O CLOCK," Lina protested.  
  
But Hotaru didn't hear her as she grabbed her jacket and ran downstairs. Sighing irritably, Lina followed suit.  
  
Satoshi couldn't stop sweating. Just wait till his folks heard about this. They would so force Shino to go and live with them. And as for Satoshi, boy, was he is trouble. He followed the ambulance in a friend's car and as soon the ambulance stopped and paramedics quickly rolled Shino away, Satoshi jumped out of the car and ran inside.  
  
"Sorry, sir, you can't go in, we're taking him to ICU," A paramedic stopped Satoshi, "you'll have to wait in the waiting room and we'll notify you with further information."  
  
Satoshi sighed and went to the waiting room.  
  
"Damn, are you doing 100?! Oh, shit! Is that a cop?! Lina shouted at Hotaru frantically, who seemed to be in a daze, "you best slow down coz we can't see Shino if we're getting a ticket." This seemed to get through to Hotaru because she slowed down considerably. They were doing an even 60 by the time they reached the hospital parking lot. Hotaru jumped out of the car in the same manner that Satoshi had done earlier and ran inside the hospital. Again, Lina followed suit.  
  
"Sorry, miss, you can't go in," A nurse stopped Hotaru just as she was about to enter ICU, "you'll have to wait in the waiting room and we'll notify you with further information. Who are you here to see?"  
  
"Shino… umm.." Hotaru began, then remembered that she didn't know his last name.   
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry," the nurse said and started walked away, shaking her head.  
  
"Wait, do you know anything?" Lina caught the nurse's arm.  
  
The nurse sighed, "He has 3 broken ribs, and minor bruises. And he suffered a concussion."  
  
Lina and Hotaru both let out a simultaneous breath of relief, but the nurse continued, "He hasn't woken up since we brought him here. We're giving him oxygen and everything. He just.. His heart is beating so slowly... umm.. I'm sorry.. We don't know if he'll make it."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
AN: I don't know where I'm going with this story.. I might kill Shino, make Lina go crazy, or have Hotaru commit suicide. I don't know. Sometimes, life is just really weird and the most unexpected things can happen at any given moment.  
  
*~ice1taru~* 


	8. Waiting Room

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 8  
  
Author: Ice1taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: Okay, I know that Hotaru is a bit OOC, so I'm going to try and work harder on making her character un-OOC. Also, sorry for the bad grammar, I really need an editor or something.   
  
Aislynn- You are a mind reader. I was so going to have Satoshi and Lina fall for each other in the waiting room. Damn, I guess I just gave it away. And I was planning on having someone sneak Hotaru in to see Shino, but it's not Ami… Oh, and thanks for the high markings, I didn't think my story would be worth an 'A'… ^_^  
  
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Hotaru's Love by Ice1taru  
  
Lina sat across from Hotaru, sweating profusely. She had never been so anxious in her life. Yet, no matter how anxious she thought she was, she knew that Hotaru's anxiety was ten times worse. She had gone into a daze again after the nurse had told them that Shino might not make it. She couldn't bear to see her best friend so sad, she had to do something.  
  
"Ugh, Hotaru, wake the fuck up," Lina poked Hotaru, "sitting here like this won't make Shino better."  
  
Hotaru mumbled something incoherent, but still kept her head buried into a soft cushion.  
  
"Look… maybe we can go ask the nurse again when we can see him, I'm sure she'll be able to tell us more information," Lina suggested hopefully.  
  
This time, Hotaru managed a sullen "fine" and got up off her seat, but she had barely walked two steps before she walked into a wall.  
  
"Well, look who it is," a deep voice said, amused.  
  
Hotaru hadn't walked into a wall. She had walked into Chiba Mamoru.  
  
"Mamoru?" Hotaru looked up, a little slow due to all her apprehension. She had forgotten that this was the hospital where Mamoru worked.  
  
"What's up, kid?" Mamoru asked, smiling.  
  
Hotaru sighed.  
  
"What are you doing here? You're Dad okay? What about you?" Mamoru started throwing questions at her, his concern growing.  
  
"No, no, Daddy's fine. And I'm okay," Hotaru replied uneasily, but Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Oh, damn, I'd like to talk to you, but right now, there's a kid in ICU who REALLY needs my help. Broken ribs, SEVERAL bruises…" Mamoru said hurriedly, looking toward the Intensive Care Unit doors.  
  
At this, Hotaru burst into tears once more. Mamoru hugged her, and asked softly, "what's wrong? …you know him?"  
  
An audible "yes" escaped Hotaru's lips.  
  
Mamoru gasped and hugged Hotaru tighter, "Shhh, it's okay. Everything's gonna be okay. You want to come in with me?"  
  
Hotaru nodded.  
  
"Okay, but, only for a few minutes, okay?" As Hotaru nodded again, he led her inside, "So, um, who is he? A boyfriend or something?"  
  
Hotaru blushed, despite the tears still running down her cheeks.  
  
Mamoru smiled knowingly and walked into a room crowded with nurses, and everyone separated as he and Hotaru moved toward the bed. His smile quickly faded as he looked down at the teenage boy.   
  
Hotaru's eyes grew wide and her mouth became dry. The right side of Shino's face was bandaged. The part of his face that she could see was purple and blue. They had taken off his shirt and a large bandage covered the part over his stomach where his ribs were supposedly broken. There were numerous bandages all over his body. His skin was pale, ghostly white and an oxygen mask was strapped to his head. He was breathing slowly. The heart monitor beeped every so often, indicating that he was still alive.  
  
Lina paced inside the waiting room. She couldn't take this. All of this was so surreal, and yet, the tension hung in the air like thick smoke, almost suffocating her. She growled in frustration, how could this be happening? They were supposed to be chilling right now, wasting time, not here, in a hospital, waiting to see if someone lived or died. Especially someone that meant so much to her best friend.  
  
Throughout all of this, Satoshi had remained unusually quiet. He had called his parents as soon as the paramedic had stopped him from going in to see Shino. His parents were really upset that Shino was hurt and they couldn't do anything about it. His mother had cried over the phone. They couldn't get a plane from England to Tokyo right away for at least another two days.  
  
Lina's cell phone rang, "Hello?"  
  
"Linaaaaa, hey girl! What's up?" An enthusiastic voice exclaimed over the phone.  
  
"Amber?" Lina asked, perplexed. Why would she be calling at midnight?  
  
Amber was one of Lina's and Hotaru's best friends…  
  
"Oh, my god! HEY LINA!" Another voice shouted over the phone.  
  
"Ry? Oh man! What a time to be calling!" Lina exclaimed as she heard the voice of her other best friend.  
  
Ry was also part of the group. The four girls (Hotaru, Lina, Ry, and Amber) had known each other since kinder garden. Currently, Ry and Amber resided in London, England. Both of their parents were divorced and Ry's Mom had ended up marrying Amber's Dad. They had all moved to England when Amber's Dad had found excellent career opportunities in London. The four girls were crushed, but still kept in touch.  
  
"Oh, my, GOSH! You will not believe what I am about to tell you!" Amber said, trying to keep her enthusiasm at bay, "Ry's Mum misses Tokyo and she's been bugging my Dad to go back and he's finally giving in! WE'LL BE IN TOKYO IN ONE WEEK!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!"  
  
"OH MAN!!! YOU GUYS, THIS IS AWESOME!!!" Lina said, burning with happiness.  
  
Lina could hear Ry's squeals of happiness.  
  
"Oh, but wait..," Lina started.  
  
"I'm sorry, I know it's short notice, but you HAVE to meet us at the airport," Amber cut in, excitedly.  
  
"You guys..," Lina aighed, "I didn't tell you. Okay, it's a long story, but Hotaru…"  
  
"Oh, shit, where is she? How come I haven't heard from her? HOTARU!!!" Amber cut in again.  
  
"No, no, listen. Please. Um… someone.. Um, this kid, from school.. He's our.. Friend.. And um, he was in an accident, and we're at the hospital right now… and Hotaru's not feeling that hot right now.. She really cares about him..," Lina trailed off, looking at Satoshi.  
  
Satoshi looked back.. and his lips twitched, he looked like he was suppressing a smile.  
  
"Right, so I'll call you guys later, I'm really tired," Lina mumbled, embarrassed that she had mentioned Shino in front of Satoshi.  
  
"Okay, night," both girls at the other end of the line squealed and all Lina heard was the dial tone.  
  
[Insert momentary silence here]  
  
"So, Hotaru likes Shino?" Satoshi asked. Lina nodded.  
  
"And Shino likes Hotaru?"  
  
"I'm guessing so. Yeah."  
  
[Insert second momentary silence here]  
  
"So, uh…," Satoshi bit his bottom lip and stood up.  
  
"So, uhh, what?" Lina prodded not so gently. She could use some coffee right about now.  
  
"Uh, hello. Rude. I'm trying to ask you out here," Satoshi rolled his eyes, standing only a foot away from Lina.  
  
"Oh, what.. So, like, are you gonna ask me out already or what?" Lina said suggestively, sizing him up.  
  
"Hey, little girl, watch it. The way you're acting, I might just NOT ask you out," Satoshi muttered, pretending to be offended.  
  
Their faces were merely inches apart now.  
  
One step closer and he separated the distance between them.  
  
They broke away after a long minute of slow kissing, both taking in slow, shallow breaths.  
  
"Ehh..," Shino sweatdropped, "sorry, I uh, get carried away sometimes..."  
  
Lina responded by rolling her eyes and brining his face down to hers for another kiss.  
  
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AN: Oh, yeah. That was odd. I know there wasn't much Hotaru and Shino, sorry, but I promise, something wonderful will happen next chapter, or maybe the chapter after that one.. We'll see. Just keep reading. Laterz.  
  
*~Ice1taru~* 


	9. More Talk

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 9  
  
Author: Ice1taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: This chapter is longer than the others.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hotaru's Love by Ice1taru  
  
Hotaru walked out of the ICU doors, eyes downcast, and looking as sullen as ever. Mamoru was still with Shino, who had woken up long enough to see Hotaru's worried face, and had fallen back to sleep. At least, he was sleeping and not in a concussion.  
  
Hotaru had spent the night watching over Shino as Mamoru performed the necessary procedures and filled out what seemed like an endless amount of paperwork. It was now 7 A.M. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there was not a cloud in sight. But it was not a bright day, for Shino still had a long way to go in order to recover.  
  
Satoshi was half-sitting/half-laying on one of the big couches and Lina's head was in his lap. They were both sound asleep. Hotaru cocked her head to the side and forgot her problems momentarily as she watched the two sleep. They looked so peaceful, with their clothes and hair ruffled and arms wrapped around each other. Hotaru wondered what they had done all night long when she had left them alone and laughed out loud. Oh, well, time to wake them up...  
  
~~~  
  
Shino woke up to the sounds of beeping and a shadow looming over him. Suddenly getting claustrophobic, Shino pushed the owner of the shadow away and looked around for Hotaru.  
  
"Heh, are you sure you're 16? Not even I can throw people around with that much force, okay, maybe I can, but I don't usually do it, unless--," Mamoru said.  
  
"16 and a half," Shino corrected, "And who the hell are you?"  
  
Mamoru laughed, "I'm your doctor, kid, Chiba Mamoru" and extended his hand.  
  
"Then, why the hell are you dressed like a damn hobo?" Shino asked roughly, looking Mamoru up and down.  
  
Mamoru withdrew his hand and looked down at his attire, he was dressed in light blue jeans with holes in the knees and a dirty white undershirt.  
  
"Let's see. Well, in the past 12 hours, I've delivered 3 babies, performed plastic surgery and actually, I performed surgery on you, too, pal. And unfortunately for me, I haven't had the pleasure of going home and changing so I just had to wear some old clothes from the laundry room. I mean, what kind of hospital doesn't provide clothing for its doctors?" Mamoru rolled his eyes.  
  
"Oh, yeah? So, you do it all?" Shino questioned.  
  
"Yeah, In fact, a lot of people call me the super doctor," Mamoru laughed at himself, that sounded so corny. 'Super doctor? Ha ha,' Mamoru thought.  
  
"I bet they do," Shino retorted, "So, um, there was this girl here, before, her name is--"  
  
"Hotaru?" Mamoru asked. He had been wondering when Shino would ask about Hotaru. "She went back outside like a little while ago. You really had her worried, I mean, usually, she's very quiet and never really expresses any emotion, but damn, she was crying..."  
  
"You KNOW her?" Shino asked, incredulous.  
  
"Well, yeah. I know her Dad and she knows my wife. She wants to be a doctor, too, and she comes here a lot to do community service and stuff. Bright kid, " Mamoru explained.  
  
Shino arched an eyebrow.  
  
"What?" Mamoru exclaimed.  
  
"Nothing," Shino rolled his eyes. 'What a quack,' he thought.  
  
~~~  
  
"So," Hotaru said and looked at Lina, then Satoshi, and then Lina again.  
  
"So," Lina rolled her eyes and gave Hotaru a look.  
  
Hotaru glared at Lina.  
  
"Fine, let's go get something to eat," Lina said, knowing Hotaru wanted to know what was going on between her and Satoshi.  
  
"We'll be right back, do you want anything?" Lina said apologetically to Satoshi, who only responded by shaking his head and squeezing Lina's hand before letting it go.  
  
Lina smiled at him and she and Hotaru walked towards the cafeteria.  
  
They walked in silence to the cafeteria. Hotaru grabbed a bottle of orange juice and Lina grabbed a bottle of Pepsi.  
  
"Pepsi? In the morning?" Hotaru grabbed Lina's Pepsi and switched it for a bottle of water.  
  
"Girl, you crazy if you think I'm gonna drink water," Lina exclaimed and switched the bottle of water for a bottle of Gatorade.  
  
"Gatorade? In the mo--," Hotaru began but stopped when Lina gave her another look.  
  
"Right. So you and Satoshi," Hotaru changed the subject.  
  
"Dude. Come ON. You know we're going out," Lina said, suppressing a smile.  
  
"See? Now, was it hard to admit that you're WITH him? Nooooo," Hotaru said, purposely trying to sound irritating.  
  
"Whatever, my inability to admit that I'm WITH someone, as you so kindly put it, doesn't make me a bad person, it's just weird to say 'oh, yeah, that's my boyfriend'. I mean, for all I know, people are gonna start talking shit that we got together so quick, but damn, he's hot," Lina rambled incessantly, trying to talk so that they wouldn't bring up Shino. Hotaru didn't seem as anxious as she had been when they had arrived at the hospital the night before.  
  
"Oh!" Hotaru exclaimed as it suddenly hit her, "We're missing school!"  
  
"No, shit," Lina grinned, "This is the prefect excuse for not going to school!"  
  
"Yeah, but do they know?" Hotaru asked worriedly.  
  
"Chill, I called our parents last night and your Dad called this morning, everything is fine. He called the school and told them that you, Shino and me weren't gonna be in school today."  
  
"You, Shino, and I," Hotaru corrected.  
  
Lina hit Hotaru upside the head and mumbled "nerd".  
  
They paid for their drinks and walked back to Satoshi.  
  
~~~  
  
"Does it hurt when I do this?" Mamoru asked and poked Shino at the top of his rib cage.  
  
"No."  
  
"Okay, what about now?" Mamoru poked him gently in the middle of his ribcage.  
  
"Yeah, it hurts a lot. And you can stop poking me now," Shino said and closed his eyes.  
  
"Oh, sorry," Mamoru mumbled as he wrote something down on his clipboard, "Okay, now, I'm going to try lift your arm and see how far you can stretch it. It might hurt, okay?"  
  
Shino nodded and Mamoru slowly lifted up his left arm and held it above his head for five seconds and slowly put it back down on the bed. He did the same thing with his left arm.  
  
"So, your arms are okay. They only hurt when you move them. Correct?"  
  
"Yeah." Again, Mamoru wrote something down on his clipboard, "Ugh, your arms shouldn't really be hurting. Only your ribs should be hurting. Hmm, you have a deep cut right above your heart," Mamoru commented, looking over his notes, "care to explain how you got injured again, I think the nurse was in a hurry when she wrote this down."  
  
"I was playing hockey," Shino said, "I haven't played in like a year, but whatever. I remember I was skating towards the puck and just as I was about 4 feet away, I noticed that the ice around the puck was thin. It was slightly cracked and small pieces of ice were sticking out. I tried to stop myself but I slipped and fell onto the ice. A bunch of people were behind me and I fell onto the puck and like three people fell on top of me. The ice that I fell on was cracked and there were pieces of it sticking out and when I fell, I could feel the ice going into my ribs. Oh, and I kind of banged into the ice and my head hit the ice really hard, like, is my face purple?" Shino felt his face and flinched when he touched a bruise.  
  
Mamoru nodded, "Yeah, like half your face is blue and purple," and wrote down some more things on his clipboard, "that's it?"  
  
Shino nodded and stifled a yawn.  
  
"Okay, well. You do know that you have a collapsed lung, four broken ribs, and a huge scar right above your heart, right?" Mamoru asked, looking at his clipboard, then at Shino, "And not to mention SEVERAL bruises, some that might leave scars."  
  
Shino looked down at his chest and furrowed his brow, "Aw, damn." Almost all of his stomach and chest were covered in bandages.  
  
"Yeah," Mamoru agreed, "a jagged piece of ice hit you about an inch above your heart. You're lucky you didn't die, you lost a lot of blood." Mamoru referred to his clipboard again.  
  
Shino yawned. "You look tired, I think that's enough for now," Mamoru said.  
  
"Uh huh," Shino said, and closed his eyes. Within minutes, he was asleep. Mamoru quietly let himself out and gently closed the door.  
  
~~~  
  
Hotaru looked at the clock. 10 o' clock. On the dot. Where the hell were Lina and Satoshi? They said they were going to get coffee half an hour ago. Knowing Lina, they were probably making out in some random janitorial closet. Great. Just great. What was she supposed to do now? Stare at the wall? She wanted to see Shino.  
  
As Hotaru was contemplating how she was going to see Shino, Mamoru walked into the waiting room. Hotaru got up and they embraced, "Mamoru, you smell."  
  
Mamoru pulled away, feigning hurt, "First Shino, now you? No one cares that I've been working my ass off for like 20 hours now. This is the thanks I get!"  
  
"Sorry," Hotaru mumbled, "Speaking of Shino, can I go in and see him?"  
  
"Oh, sorry, no. Uhh, he looked exhausted," Mamoru said.  
  
"Aww," Hotaru whispered.  
  
Mamoru smiled apologetically, "I tell you what. You can see him in a few hours. How about 3 or 4 o' clock. But you have to promise me that you'll go outside and get some fresh air."  
  
"I guess," Hotaru complied.  
  
"At a girl," Mamoru said and walked back in to ICU.  
  
Hotaru plopped down onto the couch and had her head in her hands when Lina and Satoshi walked in, holds hands.  
  
"We're baaack!" Lina announced.  
  
"Oh, goody," Hotaru muttered, not looking up.  
  
Lina rolled her eyes, "don't be mad, Taru-chan."  
  
"Where's the coffee?" Hotaru looked up at them expectedly.  
  
"What coffee?" Satoshi said, surprised, "Oh, you mean, the coffee. The coffee we went to get. Oh, yeah, THAT coffee," and had the decency to blush.  
  
"Yeah, THAT coffee," Hotaru glared at them both and got up and headed towards the cafeteria.  
  
"Where you going?" Lina asked.  
  
"To get coffee," Hotaru muttered, "the coffee you guys were supposed to get but didn't," and glared at them both again.  
  
Lina laughed and said, "I'll join you," while Satoshi grabbed a sports magazine off the table.  
  
~~~  
  
"Oh, man, I just remembered something," Lina said as they were walking back from the cafeteria, each with a steaming cup of coffee.  
  
"What?" said Hotaru as she took a sip form her coffee and looked over at Lina over the rim of her cup.  
  
"DUDE!!!" Lina exclaimed, getting excited.  
  
"WHAT?!" Hotaru asked again, getting annoyed. Lina always said 'dude' when something serious or exciting was happening.  
  
"Amber and Ry called last night, when you left me alone with Satoshi and went to see Shino," Lina said, "They're moving here IN LIKE A WEEK."  
  
"OH MY GOSH!" Hotaru jumped up and down, surprisingly not spilling any coffee.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Lina jumped up and down too, unfortunately, half her coffee spilled on the well-groomed carpet.  
  
Hotaru snorted and stopped jumping up and down. They walked in silence for a few minutes, occasionally sipping coffee.  
  
"Hey, why would they call so late at night? And why did you just tell me RIGHT now?" Hotaru said, stopping again.  
  
"Uhh, coz I forgot. I mean, you were all busy and shit worrying about Shino and I didn't know when to tell you," Lina explained.  
  
Hotaru rolled her eyes and they continued walking.  
  
When they reached the waiting room, they found Satoshi engrossed in the sports magazine. He didn't even notice them walk in. Or when Lina sat down next to him, their hips touching. He didn't even notice until Lina leaned over and kissed him hard on the lips.  
  
"Oh," Satoshi stuttered, "hey baby." "Hey," Lina said, "what's wrong?"  
  
Satoshi shrugged, "My parents are gonna be here tomorrow, they gonna kill me."  
  
Lina giggled, "you're afraid of your parents?"  
  
"Naw, it's just that they might make Shino go and live with them. At least while he's sick. They might make him stay with them for six months minimum. My Mum is REALLY overprotective."  
  
Hotaru tried not to imagine Shino leaving.  
  
"Where do your parents live?" Hotaru asked tentatively.  
  
"London."  
  
"Oh," Hotaru looked away, "what about you?"  
  
"What ABOUT me?" Satoshi asked, defensive.  
  
"Dude, are you gonna move too or what?" Lina said.  
  
"Oh," Satoshi smiled sheepishly, "naw, I get to stay here."  
  
"Ohhh," Lina said, and kissed him.  
  
Hotaru tried hard not to throw up and ran to the bathroom.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
AN: Hmmm, talk talk talk talk talk talk talk. Uhh, too much talking. There'll be more action next time, promise. I made Mamoru really silly, heh, and I know he's not usually like that, but for the plot to work, he had to be silly, so yeah. *Pulls out magic ball* I predict something exciting will happen next chapter, it was suppose to be this chapter, but whatever, we'll do it next time.  
  
*~Ice1taru~* 


	10. Almost There

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 10  
  
Author: Ice1taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: Yeah! Chapter TEN! Woo hoo! I think this story will be like 20 chapters long, either that or I'll have to make the chapters longer.. I know in the beginning I said it might be like only 10 chapters, but yeah, the plot is just developing now... so.. yeah, enjoy.  
  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-  
  
Hotaru's Love by Ice1taru  
  
"Hotaru. Hotaru, are you okay?" Lina asked cautiously.  
  
They had been in the bathroom for the past half hour. Hotaru looked paler than ever and wouldn't stop throwing up.  
  
"Ugh, Lina-chan. I feel.. I feel so bad right now," Hotaru said in a timid voice, bending over one of the toilets in the huge hospital restroom.  
  
"I know, I know," Lina responded, holding back Hotaru's hair and gently rubbing her on the back.  
  
Hotaru got up and headed over to one of the sinks. She filled her mouth with warm water and spit it out again. This she did several times, trying to get the nasty taste of vomit out of her mouth.  
  
Lina watched in attentive silence.  
  
Hotaru pulled out a napkin from one of the napkin dispensers and wiped her mouth dry, "I really need a shower right now, I feel so dirty."  
  
"Hey, maybe we can go home and get some fresh air," Lina suggested.  
  
"Don't you need to stay here with you boyfriend?" Hotaru sneered.  
  
Lina glared at her, "What's wrong with you? Are you pissed at me or what?"  
  
Hotaru sighed, "Not pissed. Okay, wait maybe I am. I feel.. Abandoned. I dunno. I just feel frustrated and there's nothing I can do to help Shino. I- I feel so USELESS."  
  
Hotaru burst into tears.  
  
This time, Lina sighed and hugged Hotaru, "Look. It's not your job to make sure he's okay. You're not a damn doctor or whatever. Mamoru's doing the best he can."  
  
Hotaru kept crying.  
  
"Look, look. Just calm down, okay? Come one, let's go home. Maybe a shower WILL help you," Lina said after a few moments of silence.  
  
Hotaru splashed cool water onto her face and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked like a complete mess. Lina handed her some paper towels, which Hotaru used to wipe her face dry. They went to the waiting room and told Satoshi they'd be back in a couple of hours.  
  
Hotaru managed to sneak into ICU and quickly glance at Shino's sleeping form throw the window in the door. He looked terrible. The bandages that had once covered his face were now gone and some of the bandages from his stomach were gone, too. He didn't look any healthier than before. If anything, he looked worse. Hotaru tried not to cry and ran outside to the car, where Lina was patiently waiting for her.  
  
~~~  
  
As soon as they got to her house, Hotaru rushed to the bathroom in her room and stood under the shower for almost an hour, letting the hot water run over her body. She hoped this would make her feel better, but it didn't and she came out feeling rejected.  
  
"Well, you look.. Uh, chipper!" Lina exclaimed from where she sat on Hotaru's bed, reading a magazine.  
  
"Thanks," Hotaru mumbled, and sat down next to her on the bed, still in her bathrobe.  
  
"Well, if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go take a shower now," Lina said, getting up off the bed and handing the magazine to Hotaru, "Look, there's an article in there called '100 Wild Things to do with Chocolate'. Once Shino is better, it should come in handy."  
  
Hotaru groaned and lay back on her bed, "Do you think about anything besides sex?"  
  
Lina shrugged, "Just trying to lighten the mood."  
  
"Eh," Hotaru said and closed her eyes, not in the mood for talking anymore.  
  
Lina took the hint and entered the bathroom. She came back out half an hour later, looking more refreshed and awake than she had looked in the past 12 hours.  
  
"You're still not dressed yet?"  
  
"Umm."  
  
"What are you thinking about Hotaru?"  
  
"Shino."  
  
Lina rolled her eyes, "Figures. Look, he's going to be fine. Mamoru said so."  
  
"No he's not," Hotaru said, getting up and walking over to her closet to decide what to wear. She was still in her bathrobe.  
  
Lina sighed, "Now, why do you say that?"  
  
"Coz I saw him and he looked so bad, he looked worse Lina-chan. I have this feeling that I can do something, that-that I SHOULD do something. There's something tugging at my heart and my hands feel warm," Hotaru explained.  
  
"Your hands feel warm?" Lina raised an eyebrow. She grabbed one of Hotaru's hands and immediately let it go.  
  
"See?" Hotaru exclaimed.  
  
"Hey.. What do you think it means?" Lina asked softly.  
  
"I don't know," Hotaru said, frustrated, "I just know that somehow, I'm supposed to help Shino."  
  
"Do we have to go over this again?" Lina questioned.  
  
Hotaru sighed and opened her closet, trying to figure out what to wear.  
  
~~~  
  
Half an hour later, Hotaru still hadn't decided what to wear.  
  
"Dammit, I've been in my bathrobe for the past fucking hour and I can't decide what to wear. UGH, WHAT is wrong with me?!" Hotaru said at last.  
  
Lina gasped and looked taken aback, "Wow, you're certainly very bitchy today."  
  
"Lina, I've never said 'fuck' before."  
  
"I know this," Lina picked out an outfit for Hotaru. The red lace shirt that she had bought the previous night and a black skirt that went four inches above her knee.  
  
"No need to thank me," Lina said brightly and went downstairs so Hotaru could change.  
  
Not in the mood to argue, Hotaru changed into the clothes that Lina had picked out for her and headed downstairs.  
  
Hotaru looked at Lina, "Where'd you get that outfit? It looks familiar."  
  
Lina grinned, "The back of your closet. How come you never wear it? It's sweet."  
  
"It's tight," Hotaru said.  
  
"Well, yeah, that too. But.. Heh, It was calling out to me and it matched with my pants," Lina said. And it did. Her sandblasted black jeans went in perfect coordination with the dark purple sweater.  
  
~~~  
  
Shino woke up abruptly from a nightmare. His whole body was sweating and his clothes and the sheets were sticking to his body. He gasped as the salty sweat touched his wounds. He couldn't quite remember what he had dreamt about but he knew it was terrible. His whole was shaking and he looked around quickly. At least it wasn't dark or he would have freaked out even more.  
  
~~~  
  
Hotaru and Lina walked into the waiting room holding flowers, candy and 'get well' cards. And Hotaru was carrying a soft red teddy bear with a big heart in the middle of it's stomach. She wanted to give to Shino as an early Valentine's day gift. Lina had almost talked her out of buying it, proclaiming that boys were suppose to get girls presents, not the other way around. Hotaru had almost listened to her, but then, she remembered when Lina had told her a couple of days ago to be independent. And buying the teddy bear WAS being independent, technically.  
  
Lina immediately gave everything she was holding to Hotaru and ran into Satoshi's arms, "I missed you."  
  
"I missed you, too," Satoshi said and they embraced. Hotaru rolled her eyes and carefully walked over to the ICU doors. This time, the nurse didn't say anything, she had seen Hotaru sneak in earlier and was all for teenage love.  
  
Hotaru walked down the halls nervously. She wondered what Shino looked like now. Every time she saw him, he looked a little bit different. But the one thing that remained the same about him was his slow descent to recovery, he looked worse and worse each time she saw him, his skin was probably paper white by now.  
  
When Hotaru walked in through his door, a bunch of nurses were surrounding him. She gasped and placed everything on the side table. Hotaru watched the nurses' backs in silence. After a few moments, they were all done and left the room. Hotaru breathed a sigh of relief. They had only been taking off some more bandages. Now, half of Shino's chest was bare.  
  
"Hey," Shino said, putting on a white t-shirt.  
  
"Hey," Hotaru smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek, "how are you holding up?"  
  
"Mm, I'm okay," Shino smiled, "What about you? You look.. Pale."  
  
Hotaru sweat dropped. In the past 3 hours, almost everyone had told her she looked pale or paler than usual or something similar. It was becoming a cliché to her now.  
  
"I'm fine," Hotaru replied slowly, "I was just.. Worried about you. That's all."  
  
Shino grabbed Hotaru's hand and she down on the edge of the bed as he moved over to make room for her.  
  
"Don't worry about me, I'm doing great. That Mamoru guy is really.. Uh, something," Shino said, laughing.  
  
"Oh, haha. He's sort of like my uncle. He's really sweet."  
  
Shino grinned, "he's weird."  
  
"Yeah, you could say that," Hotaru giggled, "Anyways, you must be bored in here."  
  
"Heh, not really. I've been sleeping most of the time. Did you miss school today?"  
  
"Umm, yeah," Hotaru began, "It was really weird, I didn't realize that we were out of school until like a few hours ago."  
  
"Hey, at least you get out of school," Shino said, feeling terrible that he had made them miss school.  
  
"yeah, that's what Lina said," Hotaru laughed.  
  
Shino rolled his eyes. He didn't like her very much.  
  
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Hotaru reached over to the bedside table and handed the red teddy bear to Shino, "This is for you."  
  
"Aw," Shino said, and leaned over and put his arms around Hotaru and buried his face in her soft hair, "that's really sweet."  
  
"Yeah, uh," Hotaru said, surprised that he was hugging her, "Uhh, it's a-a uh Valentine's Day gift. Coz uh, you know. Umm, it's coming up soon.."  
  
Hotaru trailed off as Shino lifted his face and looked into her eyes.  
  
~~~  
  
"Mmm, we should really go check on Shino," Satoshi said, his head on Lina's shoulder. She was sitting on his lap, her back to him. He had his arms wrapped around her.  
  
"Hmm, you think we should? I mean, what if he's sleeping or something?" Lina asked, not wanting to get up from her comfortable position.  
  
Satoshi laughed softly, "He can't be sleeping, Hotaru's been in there for a while."  
  
"yeah, well, I hope she's not watching him sleep or something. Ugh, corny," Lina mumbled, imagining her friend in such a pathetic situation, "we have to go in there right now!"  
  
Satoshi rolled his eyes, "Stop jumping to conclusions, I mean, what if like.. They're like, uhh..," trying to imagine Hotaru and Shino kissing. They didn't seem to fit together so well. Shino was way too fierce and Hotaru way too timid. Sure, he had only known Hotaru for a little while, but she seemed delicate.  
  
Lina laughed, "If I know Hotaru, which I do, even though she has been acting weird lately, I don't think they're really doing anything."  
  
Satoshi shrugged, "Whatever, let's go."  
  
~~~  
  
Hotaru sighed contentedly. Their lips almost touched before Lina and Satoshi walked in through the door, talking animatedly about something. They didn't notice as Shino and Hotaru pulled away from each other, looking extremely uncomfortable.  
  
Hotar jumped off the bed and excused herself to "uh, go get some water, that's it, water!"  
  
Lina and Satoshi stopped talking long enough to watch Hotaru race out of the room. They looked at Shino, looking hopeless and dazed as he held on to the teddy bear.  
  
"What? Stop fucking staring at me," He mumbled.  
  
Lina and Satoshi both rolled their eyes.  
  
"How ya feelin'," Satoshi asked brightly as he and Lina walked over to Shino's bed.  
  
"I was feeling great till you both came in here and rained on my fucking parade," Shino said, pissed that he didn't get to kiss Hotaru.  
  
"Damn, did we like.. Walk in on something?" Satoshi asked, looking over at Lina, who shrugged and went outside in search of Hotaru.  
  
"Yeah, you uh, kinda did, man," Shino sighed and ran a hand through his hair, 'Damn medication. Getting me all worked up over nothing.'  
  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-  
  
AN: Heh, it was kinda short, I think. My new goal is to now make the chapters LONGER, yeah! Keep hope alive!  
  
*~Ice1taru~* 


	11. Changes

Title: Hotaru's love  
  
Chapter: 11  
  
Author: Ice1taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: So, right now, I have writer's block. I'm back to not knowing where this story is going... Dammit, guess I'm going to have to free-write, even though I've been doing that all along...  
  
*`********`********`********`********`********`********`********`*  
  
Hotaru's Love by Ice1taru  
  
Hotaru walked outside of the hospital and around to the parking lot. She needed to get away from Shino. She felt so embarrassed after what had happened. Imagine how awful it would have been if Lina and Satoshi had caught them kissing. Ew. Her cell phone rang, "Hello? ...Oh, hey, Lina-chan."  
  
"Dude! Where are you? Damn, you almost kissed Shino. Congrats, but uh, shouldn't you stick around so that maybe you guys can finish what you started? By the way, I'm sorry. I kinda... salted your game, haha."  
  
"..." Hotaru stared at the parking lot. Yup. This was the parking lot.  
  
"So, anyway. Where are you?" Lina asked, still laughing.  
  
"Oh, in the parking lot," Hotaru answered, now just walking around, looking for Lina's car.  
  
"Oh, good. I thought you went somewhere," Lina said, relieved.  
  
"Err.. Yeah," Hotaru said, "Lina-chan. I have to think. I'll talk to you later."  
  
Hotaru walked around the parking lot for at least half an hour, just thinking.  
  
~~~  
  
Hotaru briskly walked past the nurse standing by the ICU doors and entered Shino's room.  
  
He was asleep. There was a new tube attached to his arm. She guessed that they had given him more pain medication and he had fallen asleep. Hotaru groaned inwardly and brushed some stray hair away from Shino's face. He looked so peaceful. He was hugging the teddy bear to his chest. She smiled at this and walked back to the waiting room. She didn't want to disturb him while he slept.  
  
When Hotaru reached the waiting room, she wished she had stayed with Shino. Lina and Satoshi were cuddling on the couch. It was irritating to see them so happy, they had hooked up so fast. She wished she could do that with Shino. She always froze and didn't know what to do when he was around.  
  
"Eww, you guys are like a married couple," Hotaru said.  
  
"Eww, no, we're not!" Lina protested, still in Satoshi's arms.  
  
Hotaru stuck her tongue out at her. Lina rolled her eyes and kissed Satoshi.  
  
"I mean, you guys are like always kissing and.. STUFF in public, where's the excitement? The.. The... the MYSTERY!" Hotaru declared, waving her arms around dramatically.  
  
Lina and Satoshi both rolled their eyes at her and continued making out. Hotaru took this cue as a chance to go back to Shino, even though she had just seen him five minutes ago.  
  
~~~  
  
To Hotaru's delight, when she entered Shino's room, he was wide-awake and watching tv.  
  
"Hey," Hotaru said, walking over and kissing him on the cheek.  
  
"Hey," Shino replied and wrapped an arm around her waist as she sat down next to him on the bed.  
  
"Shino, we need to talk," Hotaru began.  
  
"Yes, yes we do. But first," Shino leaned over and kissed Hotaru softly on the lips, "Now, what were you saying?"  
  
Hotaru stared off into space, "Uhh... uhh, wait. I had it, it was on the tip of my tongue..."  
  
"Well, maybe I can find it," Shino kissed her again.  
  
"Mm, your hands are warm," Shino said, as they pulled away.  
  
Hotaru stared in shock at Shino's face, "Oh my gosh!"  
  
"What? What?!" Shino asked urgently, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Your-your face! It's not purple anymore!" Hotaru gasped and touched Shino's other cheek. It instantly healed. His whole face was now back to it's normal color.  
  
Shino laughed, "What's wrong? Are you feeling okay? What are you talking about?"  
  
"But, but but but..," Hotaru began.  
  
"Relax. Calm down," Shino said, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it softly, "Just calm down."  
  
Hotaru dug into her purse with her other hand, pulled out a mirror, and handed it to Shino.  
  
Shino stared at himself in the mirror. He let go of Hotaru's hand and touched his face. He was speechless.  
  
Hotaru watched him in a stunned silence. She gently took off the bandage that was located right above his heart.  
  
"What are you doing?" Shino asked, looking down in awe as Hotaru placed her hand over the wound and it healed.  
  
"That tingles," Shino grinned, looking up at Hotaru.  
  
Hotaru blushed and looked at the door. She pulled her hand away from Shino as Lina and Satoshi walked in.  
  
"We thought we'd check in on you two crazy kids," Lina giggled.  
  
Satoshi rolled his eyes and looked at Hotaru, "Naw, we were just looking for you coz the Doctor said he was gonna come in and check on Shino and we thought that maybe you might want to be here when he did. But I guess you beat us to it."  
  
Hotaru laughed nervously, ready to run out of the room again. But this time, she couldn't. One, Shino had his arm around her and two, Mamoru walked in.  
  
"Hey," Mamoru said as he walked over to Shino. He was dressed differently. He had finally gotten a chance to go home and change, "Uhh, what happen to your bandage?"  
  
"Well, Doc. Mamoru, may I call you Mamoru? It's a funny story, really. I mean, you might not even believe me once I tell you," Shino put his hand behind his head and laughed.  
  
"Wait. Hotaru? Did you try to heal him?" Mamoru asked.  
  
"Err, yeah," Hotaru attempted an apologetic smile.  
  
"Hotaru, what did I tell you about trying to heal people? You know you're going to be weak later."  
  
"But I wanna help Shino!"  
  
"No, how many times have I told you to not touch people when your hands get warm? Huh? HUH?"  
  
Satoshi, Lina and Shino watched in silence as Hotaru and Mamoru bickered.  
  
"You never let me do anything!" Hotaru protested, beginning to cry, "I just wanna help!"  
  
Shino "aw"ed and put his arms around Hotaru, who felt instantly better.  
  
"Look, Hotaru. Damn, you could've hurt yourself. What were you thinking? Do you remember what happened last time you tried to "heal" someone?" Mamoru asked, trying not to get angry.  
  
"I was THINKING that I wanted to HELP Shino," Hotaru sniffed and wiped away tears, "I remember what happened last time, but I was okay, not like I hurt anyone."  
  
"You didn't hurt anyone but yourself," Mamoru growled but softened his tone, "Hotaru, you have a gift. Unfortunately, that gift comes with consequences. STOP TRYING TO HELP SHINO!"  
  
"Stop yelling at her," Shino glared at Mamoru, who glared back. They glared at each other for what seemed like hours, until Lina finally broke the silence, "What DID happen the last time Hotaru tried to heal someone? Hotaru, you never told me you got tired after you healed people. You're keeping things from me!"  
  
Lina ran out of the room because tears were threatening to spill out of her eyes.  
  
"Lina, wait!" Hotaru ran outside after her.  
  
There was silence in the room.  
  
"Well, let's see what she did to you," Mamoru broke the silence, sighing.  
  
He walked over to Shino and performed the regular check-up, going over all of his injuries, asking what hurt and what didn't, and occasionally scribbling on his clipboard.  
  
~~~  
  
"Lina-chaaaan," Hotaru stopped to catch her breath. They were in the parking lot now and Lina was quickly walking to her car when she heard Hotaru call out her name again.  
  
Lina stopped and turned around, "Dammit, Hotaru, I'm supposed to be your best friend. Why didn't you tell me it hurt when you healed someone? I thought it didn't affect you! No wonder you're so weak! You could be such a healthy person if you didn't go around trying to help everyone!"  
  
Hotaru sighed, "You're right, Lina. You are my best friend. That's why I didn't tell you. Because I didn't want you to worry about me."  
  
"No, you should've told me so that I could've help you," Lina walked over to Hotaru.  
  
"Help me? How?" Hotaru laughed bitterly.  
  
"I don't know. But I could've been there for you," Lina smirked, "That's what friends do, they support each other."  
  
Hotaru sighed again, "Lina.. What.. What was I suppose to do? All my life, I have been surrounded by sick people. Mamoru... Well, when I was little, my Dad was always working and would bring me to the hospital and Mamoru's wife, Usagi, would take care of me. I would go with her to little kids' rooms because she liked to cheer people up and when I ever saw someone hurting, my hands would get warm and I would touch the person and they would instantly feel better. I like to make people feel better. I can't stand to see someone in pain, Lina, it tears me up inside."  
  
Lina didn't know what to say. She was having mixed feelings right now.  
  
"Let's just go inside, okay? We'll talk about this later," She finally said, "But don't think that I will forget about this, because I won't."  
  
"Okay," Hotaru smiled and they walked back inside, arm in arm.  
  
~~~  
  
"Yay, you're back!" Shino wrapped his arms around Hotaru and buried his face in the crook of her neck.  
  
Hotaru noticed that Lina, Mamoru, and Satoshi were oddly missing. She could've sworn Lina had walked in to the room behind her.  
  
"Just don't touch me with your hands coz like, if what Mamoru says is really true, then I don't want you to heal me. I can heal the good old- fashioned way. Besides, I've been through worse," Shino mumbled lazily.  
  
Hotaru smirked, "It's okay. Shino. I wanna help, besides, I've been getting stronger lately. And... And-and I can't stand to see you in pain."  
  
"You know, this speech would be so sweet and wonderful and all that good stuff if you weren't gonna hurt yourself," Shino laughed, trying to lighten the moment.  
  
Hotaru suddenly grinned and kissed Shino on the lips. Shino, completely taken by surprise, kissed her back but didn't notice when Hotaru tried to slip the bandages off his ribs.  
  
"Dammit, why are there so many bandages?" Hotaru growled, pulling away and giving all her attention to Shino's ribs.  
  
"Uh huh, trying to be sneaky, are we?" Shino grinned, pulling Hotaru hands away from his ribcage.  
  
"TRYING being the operative word here," Hotaru mumbled, giving in and looking up at Shino.  
  
Hotaru sighed and leaned her head against Shino's chest. She could hear his heart beating. She rested one hand over his heart and the other on the bandages on his ribs, hoping that she could heal him without taking them off.  
  
It worked. Shino moaned and rested his head on Hotaru's, "that feels good..."  
  
Hotaru sweat dropped and ripped off the bandages, "Aha! See? See? Do you not feel better now?"  
  
As Hotaru threw away the bandages, Shino looked down at himself. He couldn't even remember having the accident yesterday. He couldn't even remember the pain. It was a miracle.  
  
Hotaru sat down on Shino's lap, "Umm, I guess you're wondering about my 'healing powers'."  
  
"Heh, Well, Mamoru told me all about them," Shino responded, taking her hands in his and running them over some bruises on his stomach, "Damn, that's NICE."  
  
All his bruises were gone.  
  
~~~  
  
"Mamoru, what would you do if.. Hotaru tried to.. Uh, "help" Shino again?" Lina asked cautiously.  
  
"Aw, don't worry! I'm sure Hotaru won't do anything like that," Mamoru said offhandedly as he sipped some coffee. They were all in the cafeteria, trying to not worry about Shino, and Hotaru.  
  
"Er, well. I... don't know. She seems determined to help him," Lina began.  
  
Mamoru rolled his eyes, "She doesn't have the guts."  
  
"Heh, I wouldn't be to sure about that. She's been getting.. Aggressive.. Lately."  
  
"Just coz you're her best friend doesn't mean that you're the only one that knows her."  
  
Lina grinned, "Believe me, she's changed."  
  
~~~  
  
Mamoru walked into Shino's room, hoping that Hotaru wasn't there.  
  
She wasn't.  
  
"Where's Hotaru?"  
  
"Hmm, she said something about getting something to drink," Shino said, examining the flowers that Hotaru had brought him.  
  
"Well, I guess I'm out then?" Shino asked, looking up expectantly.  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Mamoru said, looking at Shino's bandage/wound-less body.  
  
"Great," Shino smiled, putting on the pink t-shirt that Hotaru had brought him. Dammit, he hated pink, but Hotaru had insisted that Valentine's Day was coming up and that he just HAD to wear something pink. Shino had refused, saying that real men didn't wear pink, but Hotaru had told him that if he didn't wear it, she wouldn't be his girlfriend. And of course, Shino didn't want that.  
  
Even though they both knew that they were now a couple, he didn't feel like pushing her. Besides, he could wear Satoshi's black jacket over the t-shirt as soon as he came back into the room. Unfortunately for Shino, Satoshi was nowhere to be found at the moment.  
  
"Oh, wait. You still have a collapsed lung, don't you? Can you breath alright?" Mamoru said, all of a sudden.  
  
"Actually, Hotaru took care of that as well," Shino grinned.  
  
"How?" Mamoru asked and regretted it immediately, He didn't want to know, "Never mind."  
  
"Okay, whatever, suit yourself," Shino said, still grinning.  
  
Mamoru rolled his eyes and walked outside with Shino in tow.  
  
~~~  
  
"Hey Bro, lemme hold your jacket," Shino asked Satoshi as they were all getting into Lina's car.  
  
"Why?" Satoshi asked.  
  
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm wearing a PINK shirt," Shino mumbled so that only Satoshi could hear.  
  
"It's dark, no one can see you," Satoshi said.  
  
"Still."  
  
Satoshi rolled his eyes and handed over the jacket.  
  
Thanks," Shino said, ecstatic.  
  
~~~  
  
They reached Satoshi and Shino's apartment in about five minutes since it was close to the hospital. Lina was eager to talk to Hotaru. Shino was eager to talk to Hotaru. Satoshi was eager to go to sleep.  
  
"Well, see you tomorrow," Lina leaned over and kissed Satoshi, who was in the passenger seat. There was silence from the backseat.  
  
"Hmm, Shino? Wake up," A sleepy Hotaru said to a sleepy Shino.  
  
"Mmm?" Shino mumbled.  
  
Hotaru gently nudged Shino, "We're here."  
  
"Umm," Shino leaned over and kissed Hotaru goodbye.  
  
"Night," Hotaru sighed happily.  
  
"Night," Shino smiled and got out of the car.  
  
The boys made their way into the building and Lina drove off into the night.  
  
*`********`********`********`********`********`********`********`*  
  
AN: I guess this is a big chapter. Shino and Hotaru finally kiss and Shino's healed. See? Miracles CAN happen. You just have to believe.  
  
*~Ice1taru~* 


	12. Meeting the 'Rents

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 12  
  
Author: Ice1taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: Well, this is the twelfth chapter. I didn't think I would get this far, this soon. But I'm here.. *Bursts into tears* I want to thank those of you who've actually read this far, thank you! *Wiping away tears* Anyways.. *sniff* Uh, right. I'll probably end this in a few more chapters. I'm thinking about a sequel or a part two or something.. Hmm..  
  
Oh, yeah. And let's all pretend Shino's last name is... Kawasaki.  
  
$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$--- --$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$  
  
Hotaru's love by Ice1taru  
  
The next day, Shino's parents arrived. Satoshi had almost forgotten that they were coming. In all the excitement and chaos, he had just assumed that he would keep them updated over the phone since they had said they might not be able to make it.  
  
It was late afternoon when they heard a knock on their door. Shino, thinking that it might be Hotaru, rushed to the door and opened it excitedly, only to find his folks. Shino's face fell. Boy, was he disappointed. He walked back to the couch, mumbling to himself.  
  
"Well, aren't you going to invite us in, son?" Mr. Kawasaki said.  
  
Satoshi walked to the door, smiling broadly, and took the bags that his father was holding, glad that he hadn't noticed that Shino wasn't wearing any bandages.  
  
Mr. Kawasaki walked inside the apartment, carefully inspecting and criticizing everything, "Open a window, there's no air in here." "It's damn cold in here, turn off the air conditioner." "Do I smell something burning?"  
  
"Err, where's Mom?" Satoshi asked, looking outside.  
  
"Oh, your mother. Well, she's arguing with the taxi driver downstairs. We got lost on the way here. Why weren't you at the airport to pick us up?" Mr. Kawasaki replied.  
  
"Uh, we.. Didn't know you were coming," Satoshi said, sweat dropping. He carried all the bags inside and set them down on the living room floor.  
  
"Ah, Mommy's here! Where's my poor baby, Shino?! Satoshi, we must get to hospital right away and see him," Mrs. Kawasaki exclaimed as she appeared at the apartment door.  
  
"Ah, well, I'm thinking we might not need to go to the hospital to see Shino," Mr. Kawasaki stated matter-of-factly as he sat down next to Shino on the couch, who was playing Tekken.  
  
"Oh, for heaven's sake! What happened to you? My poor baby! Are you okay? I thought you had an accident! Don't pout dear, it's not very becoming," Mrs. Kawasaki exclaimed as she ran over to Shino and enveloped him in a bear hug.  
  
"Mom, please. I'm almost seventeen. What would my girlfriend say if she saw this right now?" Shino said, trying to breathe.  
  
"Sixteen and a half," Mr. Kawasaki corrected.  
  
"You have a girlfriend? WHO?! It better not be someone older than you, young man!" Mrs. Kawasaki shrieked.  
  
"Err, Satoshi has a girlfriend! Uh, her name is Hotaru and uhhhhhh, she's younger than me! But wait, how come Satoshi can have a girlfriend?! And you get pissed whenever I get one?!" Shino exclaimed, pointing accusingly to his brother.  
  
"Yes, but he's older than you, dear!" Mrs. Kawasaki stated kindly.  
  
Mr. Kawasaki, who had been quiet for some time now, finally realized the truth of the situation, "You mean to tell me that you're not sick? We spent two THOUSAND dollars to get over here as fast as we can to make sure you're okay, and YOU'RE NOT SICK?! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"  
  
"Great goin', bro! We could've used that money to go somewhere during spring break," Shino mocked.  
  
Satoshi looked at his family and sat down bewildered. Somehow, some way, he always got blamed for everything. "ALL I wanted was to call you guys and let you know what was going on. Okay, you know what next time Shino hurts himself, no one will know! NO ONE! And besides, I didn't even know that he was just going to get healed MIRACULOUSLY in like a day, so THERE!"  
  
"Don't raise your voice at me," Mrs. Kawasaki muttered, "And who is this Hotaru?"  
  
"My girlfriend?" Shino said, raising an eyebrow, "You'll probably meet her soon, she said she'd drop by today."  
  
"She comes over here? Unsupervised? I'm hope she's not another prostitute," Mrs. Kawasaki replied, befuddled.  
  
"Well, technically, she hasn't yet. But I'm sure she will soon. And no, she's not "another prostitute"," Shino replied, offhandedly.  
  
"Dana, I think you're forgetting the main point here," Mr. Kawasaki looked at his wife, "We both missed several meetings today and spent TWO THOUSAND dollars coming over here when Shino isn't even sick."  
  
"Yes, what is all this about, dear?" Mrs. Kawasaki looked at her youngest son, who tried not to look at her.  
  
"Err, well. Mom. Dad. I WAS sick. Uhh. But uh, the technology now a days is amazing and uh, it wasn't that big an accident, I mean, I merely slipped and fell on the ice," Shino explained.  
  
"Yes, but Satoshi said you were in the hospital, I'm sure it was big if they had to take you to the hospital," Mr. Kawasaki reasoned.  
  
"Heh, heh. They only took me to the hospital because they were overreacting," Shino said. Satoshi glared at him.  
  
"I have a feeling you two are hiding something," Mrs. Kawasaki eyed her sons suspiciously, "Out with it. Come on."  
  
"We're not hiding anything, Mom," Satoshi replied easily.  
  
"Right," Shino nodded.  
  
"Right," Satoshi mumbled and walked into the kitchen, determined to find something to eat.  
  
"I'm going to find out what it is," Mr. Kawasaki mumbled to himself.  
  
"Okay, well, uh.. I'll just uh, put all your bags into your room, alright," Shino said as he picked up all of his parents' suitcases and walked into the guest bedroom. He deposited all of their bags onto the floor, came back to the living room, and resumed his game of Tekken.  
  
"Hungry?" Satoshi asked his parents, coming back into the living room with a bag of potato chips.  
  
"Dear, what are you eating?" Mrs. Kawasaki said.  
  
"Pofafo sips," Satoshi said, his mouth full.  
  
"Don't chew with your mouth full, hon, and you know these are bad for you. You'll ruin your appetite," Mrs. Kawasaki took the potato chips away from Satoshi.  
  
"Mom, it's FOUR," Satoshi protested.  
  
"Still," Mrs. Kawasaki said, putting the potato chips away and beginning to clean up the apartment, "you boys have such a mess in here, don't you ever clean?"  
  
"Nope," Both boys replied.  
  
$-$-$  
  
Lina and Hotaru were in front of Shino and Satoshi's door at five. They had taken half the day trying to look perfect.  
  
Hotaru inhaled, "How do I look?"  
  
"You look good," Lina smiled, "really."  
  
And she did. Hotaru wore a black leather skirt that went four inches above her knees and a long-sleeved dark blue shirt. She wore black boots that matched with the skirt and black jewelry (necklace, hoop earrings) and a black watch. She also wore dark blue mascara and rose-colored lipstick.  
  
"What-what about me?" Lina asked, looking down at her outfit.  
  
Hotaru laughed, "You know you always look good, Lina-chan."  
  
And, of course, she did. Lina wore tight black sick Capri pants and a light blue baby tee. She wore white Lugz and black jewelry (puka shells, earrings), black eye liner, and clear lip gloss.  
  
Lina knocked on the door and bit her lip. She felt like the biggest dork because she was anxious, she was usually never nervous around boys. Maybe it was because he was older than her.  
  
Shino opened the door, smiling, and invited them in. He kissed Hotaru on the lips and they hugged. Lina rolled her eyes and walked into the living room in search of Satoshi. She found him playing Tekken.  
  
"Hey," Satoshi smiled as she sat down next to him on the couch.  
  
"Hey," Lina said, kissing him on the cheek, "why is it so quiet in here?"  
  
"Eh, my parents are sleeping."  
  
"..."  
  
"They came to check on Shino, remember?"  
  
"Oh, yeah."  
  
"Yeah, they had a long trip."  
  
"So, what do you wanna do now?" Lina asked, looking around.  
  
"What do you think," Satoshi grinned and turned off the play station.  
  
$-$-$  
  
"Pass the potatoes, please," Mrs. Kawasaki smiled at Hotaru, who immediately dropped her fork and handed her the potatoes.  
  
"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Kawasaki beamed, "Such a sweetheart."  
  
Hotaru looked down at her food, blushing. "You're welcome and thank you," she responded timidly.  
  
"Why, you're welcome, dear," Mrs. Kawasaki said.  
  
Hotaru laughed nervously. Shino grabbed her hand from under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She calmed down a little bit.  
  
"So, Hotaru," Mrs. Kawasaki said, pointedly looking at Hotaru, "how long have you and Shino been dating?"  
  
"Erm, twelve hours maybe? Well, officially, I dunno. But yeah, twelve hours, I think, uh if you get technical and all," Hotaru smiled, thinking that maybe she should stop rambling so much.  
  
Shino shrugged, "I think it was longer."  
  
"Really?" Hotaru looked over at him.  
  
"Yeah, I mean... I've thought of you as my girlfriend since.. Uhm.. You kissed me on your porch. Remember that day?"  
  
"How could I forget?" Hotaru sighed happily and squeezed his hand under the table.  
  
Shino smiled at his girlfriend.  
  
Lina and Satoshi rolled their eyes, and Hotaru thought that THEY were an old married couple.  
  
Lina gently kicked Hotaru and Shino from under the table, they were staring at each other and it was really starting to annoy her. When they went into their own little world, it was as if no one else existed.  
  
Hotaru smiled gratefully at Lina. Shino coughed and resumed eating his food.  
  
After a few moments of silence, Hotaru couldn't take it anymore. She felt so weird when everything around her went oddly quiet.  
  
"So, Satoshi. This pasta's great!" Hotaru said enthusiastically.  
  
"Why, thank you. I'm glad at least SOMEONE appreciates my cooking," Satoshi said, exasperated.  
  
"You can't cook, Sato. She's just being nice," Shino muttered.  
  
"No she's not," Satoshi argued.  
  
"Dude--," Shino began.  
  
"I like it, really," Hotaru said.  
  
"Oh," Shino said, disappointed.  
  
When everyone else at the table was talking again, Hotaru gently leaned over to Shino and whispered, "Don't worry, Shino-chan, I'll always be on your side" and kissed him on the cheek. Of course, no one saw this, except Lina, who rolled her eyes and Mr. Kawasaki, who didn't really give a damn about who Shino was dating.  
  
As Satoshi and Mrs. Kawasaki were deep in conversation about school, Mr. Kawasaki said, "Boy, is this boring" to Lina, who was taken aback by this bit of news, yet relieved. Mr. Kawasaki seemed cool, he didn't really bother anyone, was a no-nonsense kind of person and a businessman, which Lina hoped to be someday.  
  
"Yeah, this is kind of boring," Lina admitted cautiously.  
  
"So, tell me. Lina, is it? What are you in to?" Mr. Kawasaki said conversationally.  
  
"Oh, fashion," Lina said brightly.  
  
"Figures," Mr. Kawasaki mumbled and looked away, hoping to distract himself with something.  
  
"Oh, but good fashion. And business," Lina said, "I plan to have a worldwide chain of fashion boutiques."  
  
Mr. Kawasaki's head snapped in her direction as she said "business", "Well, tell me about that."  
  
"Heh, there's not much to tell," Lina said, "But I plan on being the richest, most famous designer out there."  
  
"Ah, ambitious, are we?" Mr. Kawasaki chortled, she was just like him when he was sixteen years old.  
  
"Well, yeah," Lina raised her eyebrows, she couldn't tell whether he was laughing at her or not.  
  
The rest of the night dragged on. When it was finally over, everyone was relieved. Somehow, everyone felt as if the evening had been a waste. And so, Lina and Hotaru went home and everyone else went to bed.  
  
$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$--- --$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$-----$  
  
AN: So, uhm, this was a filler chapter, uh, yeah...  
  
*~Ice1taru~* 


	13. Surprise, surprise

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 13  
  
Author: Ice1taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
Hotaru's Love by Ice1taru  
  
The rest of the week went by slowly. Finally, the day of the Valentine's Day dance arrived. But there was a problem.  
  
"Umm, Hotaru?" Lina asked all of a sudden.  
  
They were in Hotaru's room, trying on different dresses.  
  
"What?" Hotaru said, picking up a deep beige-colored dress with a low neckline and tossing it aside without even a second glance.  
  
"Today's the day that Ry and Amber arrive, remember?" Lina said.  
  
"Oh, my god! When do they arrive?" Hotaru stared at Lina.  
  
"Ehh, I think like at seven," Lina answered.  
  
"It's four already! Shouldn't they have called us by now, telling us where they are? I mean, the dance starts at eight," Hotaru said.  
  
"I think they MIGHT be in an airplane, coz you know, I'm just SAYING," Lina rolled her eyes.  
  
"Very funny. I meant they'd call and tell us when to get to the airport, like if their flight was late or early or whatever. Or even just to say hi," Hotaru mumbled, disappointed.  
  
"Oh, yeah, about that. I guess we should be at the airport by six-thirty. Just in case. So, that means that we should leave the house around.. Six, I'd say," Lina said, calculating it all in her head.  
  
"Wow, you're smart," Hotaru clapped her hands together and feigned excitement, "You can count! Now, do another trick, do another trick!"  
  
Lina rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at her. A full-on pillow fight ensued.  
  
*-*-*-*  
  
Satoshi and Shino's parents were already gone. They had only stayed in Tokyo for two days. They couldn't afford to miss any more meetings.  
  
"So, tonight's the big night," Satoshi said, walking in and sitting down on Shino's bed.  
  
"Hmm," Shino stared at himself in the mirror. His hair was a mess, he looked like he had just gotten out of bed, "I'm taking a shower."  
  
"Wait, don't go. We need to talk about this," Satoshi grabbed Shino's arm and made him sit down on the bed beside him.  
  
"Bro," Shino muttered, trying to get up, "there's nothing to talk about."  
  
"Yeah, there is," Satoshi countered, "It's your first real date with.. Hotaru!"  
  
"Okay. We really don't need to be sitting here talking about our "feelings" and whatnot," Shino rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, but it's good to talk," Satoshi replied, "Tell me. How do you feel?"  
  
"You sound like a damn psychologist," Shino muttered, "All peaceful and shit."  
  
Satoshi rolled his eyes.  
  
*-*-*-*  
  
Amber scanned the crowd. Lina had said she'd be at the airport by six- thirty. It was already seven. Where could they be?  
  
"Do you think they forgot about us?" Ry asked, taking a drink from her bottle of Pepsi.  
  
Amber rolled her eyes, "Oh, yeah. We're ONLY their best friends and the four of us are finally going to be together and they just *all of a sudden* forgot about us. Yeah."  
  
"Hey, you never know. They had that dance thing today, didn't they?"  
  
"Uh, hello? I think we might be just a little bit more important than a stupid dance, alright?"  
  
"Ya, but like. Hotaru met some new guy, right?"  
  
"Finally," Amber rolled her eyes again, "I thought she'd never go out."  
  
Ry giggled, "I just hope it's not some candy ass loser. Or a nerd."  
  
*-*-*-*  
  
"Yup, and then she kissed me on the cheek and ran inside," Shino finished.  
  
"Wow, that's really sweet. Kind of traditional, you know? A kiss on the cheek," Satoshi said.  
  
"Yeah," Shino sighed and after a moment, got up from the bed and walked towards his bathroom, "No more male bonding, okay? I think we've done enough for a lifetime. I don't even know how you got me to tell you how I asked Hotaru out. Or rather, how she asked me."  
  
Satoshi laughed.  
  
*-*-*-*  
  
"What up, guys?" Lina exclaimed, coming up behind Amber and Ry.  
  
"Finally!" Amber raised her hands up in the air in exasperation.  
  
Hotaru followed shortly. She was talking with Shino on the phone. He had just gotten out of the shower.  
  
Hotaru laughed. "Well, I gotta go now, but um, I'll see you in forty minutes, okay? Bye!" Hotaru said into the phone and turned it off.  
  
"Uh huh, who was that?" Ry teased.  
  
Hotaru rolled her eyes and they exchanged hugs.  
  
"Her BOYFRIEND," Lina stuck her tongue out at Hotaru.  
  
Hotaru shoved her aside playfully, "So what? You have a boyfriend, too!"  
  
Lina rolled her eyes, "Whatev, let's get your guys' stuff and go. The guys, or rather, Hotaru's LOVER, will be over in forty minutes. Which means Hotaru only has ten minutes to change into her dress."  
  
"Satoshi's not going?" Hotaru asked, looking at Lina.  
  
"Satoshi?" Ry and Amber said at the same time.  
  
"What?" Hotaru and Lina said at the same time.  
  
They all laughed. "Why? Whose Satoshi?" Hotaru asked as they walked over to claim their luggage.  
  
"Just this guy we used to know back in London. No big," Ry said, shrugging.  
  
"Oh," Hotaru said, "where are your guys' parents?"  
  
Amber laughed, "They still had some stuff to work out at my Dad's office, and we were just dying to get over here, so we came. They wanted to come like four days from now and me and Ry were like "yeah, right!" So we came!"  
  
"Oh my gosh! How cool! My Dad would never let me do that," Hotaru said, surprised.  
  
"Yup, yup," Ry nodded.  
  
Lina rolled her eyes, "Your Dad never lets you do ANYTHING."  
  
Hotaru rolled her eyes. They picked up all of their bags and headed to the parking lot.  
  
"Dude, where's the car?!" Lina exclaimed.  
  
"Dude! In the parking lot!" Ry giggled.  
  
Hotaru, Lina, and Amber stared at her. After a long moment of silent staring, Ry finally said, "Get it? Car? In the parking lot? Coz that's where you park your car, right? In the parking lot!" And she laughed again.  
  
The other three girls rolled their eyes and looked for Lina's car.  
  
*-*-*-*  
  
Shino arrived at Hotaru's door at exactly seven-thirty. Hotaru was still getting dressed and Ry and Amber were unpacking in one of the guest bedrooms. Lina answered the door when Shino rang the bell.  
  
"Hey, what's up?" Lina said brightly as she ushered him inside.  
  
"Um, nothing much. Sato told me to tell you that he'll call you later," Shino said, fidgeting nervously.  
  
Lina could tell that he was nervous so she made him sit down in the living room and watch television while Hotaru got dressed.  
  
"Want some ice cream?" Lina asked, walking into the kitchen.  
  
"No, thanks," Shino replied. He jumped up from where he was sitting and followed Lina into the kitchen.  
  
"Dude. Personal space," Lina said, when she noticed he was following her.  
  
"Oh, sorry. Nervous," Shino replied shortly and ran a hand through his hair.  
  
"Water?" Lina handed him a glass of water.  
  
"Mm," Shino sat down on one of the barstools and gulped down the water.  
  
"So," Lina began, "big night?  
  
Shino felt a wave of déjà vu hit him, "Maybe."  
  
Lina arched an eyebrow, "So, what are you guys gonna do AFTER the dance?"  
  
"Hmm, why do you wanna know?" Shino asked, skeptical.  
  
Lina shrugged, "Curious," and walked upstairs to Hotaru's room. This time, Shino didn't follow her. He was too busy brooding about something.  
  
*-*-*-*  
  
"Whoa!" Ry said as she walked into Hotaru's room, "that dress is gorgeous. You look great, Taru."  
  
Hotaru blushed and looked down at herself, "You think so?"  
  
Ry nodded and sat down on Hotaru's bed.  
  
"So, who is this guy? I don't know shit about him," Ry said.  
  
"Eh," Hotaru laughed, "What do you want to know?"  
  
"Is he a nerd?"  
  
"No way."  
  
"Umm, a geek?"  
  
"...No..."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah, pretty sure."  
  
"Okay. Well, I'm sure he's okay then."  
  
Hotaru laughed and walked into her bathroom to apply some make-up.  
  
Lina walked in and sat down next to Ry on Hotaru's bed.  
  
"I think I'm gonna go see Hotaru little "friend", shall we call him?" Ry said and got up.  
  
"Dude, in the kitchen," Lina said.  
  
"Thanks," Ry climbed down the stairs and skipped into the kitchen. When she entered the kitchen, she couldn't believe her eyes.  
  
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
AN: *evil laugh*  
  
*~Ice1taru~* 


	14. Dance, or not

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 14  
  
Author: Ice1taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|* |*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|  
  
Hotaru's Love by Ice1taru  
  
Ry couldn't believe it. Out of all the people for her to bump into in Tokyo, it had to be him. It had to be Shino. Ry gasped. Shino turned around when he heard her gasp. He thought it was Hotaru and smiled, but his smile faded when he realized it wasn't her.  
  
"Ry?" Shino asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Oh my gosh! Shino!" Ry ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. Shino rolled his eyes; she was still as clingy as ever. He gently pushed her away and stared at her.  
  
Shino was confused. What the hell was going on? What was Ry doing here?  
  
They'd dated for a few months when Shino had been living in London with his parents before he moved to Tokyo. They had had a great relationship, but in the end, Ry had cheated on him and now, here she was again. Out of nowhere. She always seemed like the stalker type to him. She would become jealous if Shino even looked at other girls and that was one of the reasons why they had broken up. She was just too controlling sometimes and Shino didn't like that. At all. In fact, he had hated it. And besides, she had been the one to cheat on him and then, dump him. What a bitch, Shino thought, just realizing the irony of the situation. He had been broken-hearted when she had left him. Sure, Shino missed the sex the most, but it seemed like they were the perfect couple.  
  
"Oh, baby. I've missed you so much," Ry purred into his ear, forgetting about Hotaru, and wrapped her arms around him once again.  
  
"Uh, hello. YOU dumped ME, remember?" Shino muttered and tried to push her away gently. He was a gentleman. And he would remain calm throughout this whole ordeal. Yes, he would.  
  
"Oh, but that was only because you were looking at that girl. I mean, I forgive you now, though," Ry sat down on his lap and kissed him gently on the lips.  
  
"Damn, can you get the fuck off of me? MAYBE we can have a real conversation without you touching me, ya know?" Shino growled. So much for being a gentleman, Shino thought glumly.  
  
"And oh yeah. That girl that I was looking at was Amber and that was coz she was talking to me. And usually, when someone is talking to you, you look at them," Shino said.  
  
"Well, you were smiling," Ry pouted, trying to be cute. She ran a hand through his hair.  
  
"She was telling a JOKE," Shino said, exasperated.  
  
Ry rolled her eyes; he was always good at making excuses.  
  
Just then, Hotaru walked into the room, glowing with happiness that she would finally get to go out with Shino. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Ry on his lap, with her arms around his neck. Their lips were only inches apart. Hotaru tried not to cry and ran back upstairs to her room. She slammed the door and fell on the bed. The angry tears ran down her cheeks freely. Hotaru didn't understand what had just happened. How could this be?  
  
Shino gasped and got up when he saw Hotaru running back upstairs, in the process, dropping Ry on the floor. Ry was angry now. How could Shino be so careless as to drop her like that?  
  
"Shino--," Ry began.  
  
"No," Shino snapped, "No more! It's over between you and me. Cry me a fucking river, build me a fucking bridge, and GET THE FUCK OVER IT!" And with that, he calmly walked up the stairs, looking for Hotaru. Unfortunately, Amber and Lina met him first.  
  
"Shino!" Amber gasped. "What a pleasant surprise!"  
  
Lina glared at Amber, which quickly wiped the grin off her face.  
  
"WHAT the fuck did you just do?" Lina said, under her breath. Lina and Amber were just about to go downstairs when they had seen Hotaru coming up the stairs, looking terribly upset. And they had heard her crying at first, but she seemed to have gained control over herself because her room was oddly quiet now.  
  
"What did I do? What DID I DO? You wanna know what I did?!" Shino said, looking from Amber to Lina, "I did nothing at all. That bitch, Ry, she kissed me."  
  
"Well, uh, didn't YOU dump her? I didn't know she wasn't over you yet," Amber said thoughtfully.  
  
"I dunno what you guys are doing here, but she is seriously about to fuck me over," Shino said, looking at Amber. "And no. I did not dump HER. SHE dumped ME." For the first time, Shino felt that he had truly liked a girl, but Ry was about to mess everything up. Why didn't she understand that he didn't like her anymore? That he liked Hotaru now? That, maybe, he even loved Hotaru? How could so many things go so wrong in such a small amount of time? Shino groaned, frustrated.  
  
"What? Are you serious?" Amber said, puzzled.  
  
"No," Shino said, "I'm just playing around with you because it's fun."  
  
Amber gave him a look.  
  
"YES! I'M SERIOUS!"  
  
"Okay, calm down. No need to get excited. I'm sure Hotaru will understand if we just explain everything to her."  
  
"Yeah, right! Did you not just see her slam the door?! What if she's crying or something? Huh? What then?!"  
  
"...Right, Just calm down. I'll figure something out."  
  
"Guess you guys are not going to the dance tonight," Lina spoke up.  
  
"Gee. Whatever gave you THAT idea?" Shino said, every word dripping with sarcasm.  
  
"Hey, I was just SAYING," Lina said defensively.  
  
"She's right," Amber said.  
  
Shino sweat dropped.  
  
"No, I meant she's right. You guys MIGHT get to go the dance today if you're lucky," Amber added, "Hotaru's really sensitive. She might have a hard time getting over it."  
  
"Damn, you guys are just so nice. You sure know how to cheer someone up," Shino said, running a hand through his hair. "Is there anything else you wanna tell me?"  
  
"Shut UP, Gangsta-wanna-be," Lina rolled her eyes and grabbed his elbow. She led him to Hotaru's room. Unfortunately, the door was still locked.  
  
"Do it," Lina whispered.  
  
"Do what?" Shino whispered back.  
  
"Knock on the fucking door, DAWG," Lina said and laughed at her own joke.  
  
Shino scowled and shrugged her off. He cautiously knocked on the door.  
  
"Go to hell" was the only reply that came from inside the room.  
  
Lina laughed out loud and said "That's my girl!"  
  
Amber shushed her and looked at Shino. Shino looked at Amber and bit his lip.  
  
"Hotaru. Open the door," Amber knocked on the door.  
  
"No," Hotaru said.  
  
"Not until he's gone," she added a few silent moments later.  
  
"And I'm not too keen to see HER either," she added again after some more moments of silent suffering for Shino.  
  
Amber sighed, "Hotaru, you don't understand. Please open the door."  
  
This time, Hotaru did not reply. She did not want to talk.  
  
Lina sighed loudly. "Look. Let's let him deal with it. Let's go see what's up with Ry."  
  
Shino glared at Lina when she said 'Ry'.  
  
Lina gave him a look and walked downstairs. After silently interrogating Shino for a few moments, Amber followed.  
  
|*| |*| |*|  
  
Amber and Lina sat down on the sofa. Ry was sitting in the loveseat, hugging a cushion. Tears stained her cheeks and she was staring at her feet.  
  
"So. One question," Amber began, "Who messed up? You or him?"  
  
"Me," Ry said, and began to cry again.  
  
Amber sighed, "I was afraid of this. What happened?"  
  
Ry took a deep breath. "Well, I came downstairs. I saw Shino. And all these feelings rushed back to me. I didn't know I still liked him. He was the first guy that I went out with that was different from all the other guys. And he's actually gotten hotter. I thought he'd be miserable without me. That's why I dumped him. I wanted him to want me more after the break-up but he left. And now that I finally get to see him again, he likes someone else. HOTARU, of all people."  
  
"Why? What's wrong with Hotaru?" Lina asked, all of a sudden.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Did I stutter?" Lina snapped.  
  
"I am so much more sexier than she is," Ry laughed dryly.  
  
"Oh, that explains EVERYthing. But you know you're wrong. Hotaru really likes him and he really likes her," Lina explained.  
  
"Really?" Ry asked.  
  
"Really."  
  
|*| |*| |*|  
  
Shino knocked on Hotaru's door for what seemed like the hundredth time. When, once again, there was no response, Shino sighed and sat down on the floor, leaning on the door.  
  
"Hotaru..." Shino began and waited, hoping she would respond.  
  
"Hotaru, dammit, answer me. Don't leave me alone. Please. Just say something. Anything. Please?" He was on the verge of desperation now. When she didn't respond once again, he realized just how much he had hurt her. He tried to picture what it was like to be in her shoes, walking in on him.  
  
Shino sighed again and looked up the at ceiling.  
  
"Why?" came the audible reply from the other side of the door. Hotaru was standing on the other side of the door, staring at it intently, thinking she could see Shino on the other side if she just tried hard enough. It wasn't working, all she saw was the stark, wooden door.  
  
Hotaru laid a trembling hand on the door, just like she had laid her hand on Shino's chest at the hospital. This memory brought tears to her eyes.  
  
"Why?" Shino repeated. "Why?" Shino laughed. "Dammit, Hotaru. SHE kissed ME. I would never do anything to hurt you. In fact, it's hurting me now to see you hurting. Well, I can't really see how, but if you're crying, please stop. I can't stand the thought of you crying."  
  
Hotaru slid down and sat on the floor, her back leaning on the door. They were back to back now, only a door separating them.  
  
The silence was deafening.  
  
|*| |*| |*|  
  
Ry sniffled. Amber handed her a tissue. Lina stared at Ry. Amber glared at Lina. Lina stopped staring at Ry and stared at Amber instead.  
  
Amber rolled her eyes. "Come on guys. We have to make things right again."  
  
"He was so mean to me. I don't wanna go up and see him," Ry said quickly.  
  
"Well, you DID try to rape him just now," Lina said slowly.  
  
"Rape? Lina!" Amber said.  
  
"Thank you Amber. At least someone is on my side," Ry said.  
  
"It was more like seduce. You know, assault. Harassment," Amber stated matter-of-factly.  
  
"Okay, so maybe no one is on my side," Ry snapped.  
  
"Grow UP, Ry. I can't believe this is actually happening," Lina said angrily.  
  
|*| |*| |*|  
  
"You know, I've liked you ever since I first saw you. I still remember the first time I saw you. My heart wouldn't stop pounding. In fact, every time I see you, my heart skips a beat."  
  
Hotaru smiled at this, unbeknownst to Shino.  
  
Shino looked up at the ceiling again, "I wish we could just go out like a regular couple and just.. I dunno. There's so much I feel for you. I would never cheat on you. Ry," Shino frowned, "She just won't leave me alone. Me and her are over. All I want is you, Hotaru, why can't you see that?" Shino pounded his fist on the floor, frustrated.  
  
Hotaru stared at the wall on the opposite side of her bedroom. She didn't know what to do, she was still hurt. Yet, Shino seemed sincere. She got up off the floor and slowly opened the door. Shino felt the door opening and stood up. He looked down at Hotaru and smiled. Hotaru smiled back and they hugged.  
  
"I'm sorry," Hotaru mumbled.  
  
"No, I'm sorry, I should've pushed her away sooner."  
  
"I didn't know you guys were going out."  
  
"WERE."  
  
Hotaru sighed. "I don't know. Somehow, this doesn't seem right. She's one of my best friends."  
  
"Yeah, your best friend who tried to mack on your boyfriend."  
  
Hotaru smiled when he said 'boyfriend'. In fact, she smiled every time someone mentioned that they were a couple.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Shino leaned down and kissed her on the lips, gently at first, but growing slowly towards infatuation. They both pulled away reluctantly due to lack of oxygen. Hotaru blushed and looked down. Shino smiled slightly and cupped her face in his hands. He kissed her again.  
  
|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|* |*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|  
  
AN: Woo hoo! Well, that was certainly a thrill ride.. Uh, okay. Umm, I was listening to Eminem while I wrote this chapter.. Heh heh.. Heh..  
  
*~Ice1taru~* 


	15. Dance? What dance?

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 15  
  
Author: Ice1taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.  
  
AN: Yeah, I know I should've wrote what Hotaru and Shino looked like. Ugh, I totally forgot, so here they are.  
  
/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*- /*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/  
  
Hotaru's Love by Ice1taru  
  
Hotaru and Shino went downstairs hand in hand. Hotaru wore a spaghetti- strap lavender dress that went an inch below her knees and had a slit on one side that went up to her mid-thigh. She had decided to curl her hair and wore diamond studs and a matching bracelet. Shino wore a casual black dress suit and a Bulgari watch. Together, they looked simple, but elegant.  
  
When they reached the living room, they regretted it immediately. Ry was crying and Amber was attempting to comfort her, though it didn't seem to be working. And Lina was obviously upset about something.  
  
"You guys," Hotaru began, and sat down next to Lina. Ry looked up at her with tear-stained cheeks and wiped away her tears, she didn't even look at Shino. Shino rolled his eyes at this.  
  
"Hotaru, I--," Ry's voice cracked.  
  
A long, uncomfortable silence followed.  
  
Ry tried not to cry and motioned for Hotaru to follow her upstairs so they could talk in private.  
  
Hotaru followed Ry up the stairs and into her room, where she sat down on her bed. Ry stood in front of her for a moment. She opened her mouth to say something but obviously couldn't, so she paced in front of Hotaru.  
  
"Okay," Hotaru said, after a moment of watching Ry silently pace.  
  
Ry sighed. "I'm sorry Hotaru. Really." She took a deep breath. "I know I haven't been the best of friends tonight."  
  
"But I.. It was really weird when I saw Shino. I thought I was over him, but I guess I wasn't. We went out a little while ago, like a year ago. But he had to move and we broke up like a month before he left," Then added as an afterthought, "Damn, he's gotten hotter."  
  
Hotaru stared at Ry.  
  
"Look, I'm really sorry. Say something. Please."  
  
"What do you want me to say?" Hotaru muttered. "That I forgive you?"  
  
"We're best friends," Ry protested and sat down next to Hotaru on the bed.  
  
"Yeah, we ARE best friends," Hotaru countered, "And that's another reason I'm angry. Best friends don't steal each other's boyfriends!"  
  
"Well, technically, I went out with him first."  
  
"What the hell?" Hotaru glanced sideways at Ry.  
  
"Well, I did."  
  
"Yeah, and he's moved on. And so should you."  
  
Ry groaned. This wasn't going to be easy. "Hotaru..."  
  
"I just want to say that I really like Shino. Well, I LIKED Shino. And I guess he HAS moved on, but I haven't. I don't know why it's so hard for me to let go. But as one of your best friends, I'm finally going to let him go. Because I care. About you. And I can't be nice to him just yet, he WAS a bitch to me."  
  
Hotaru rolled her eyes. "Well, you WERE all up on him."  
  
Ry coughed. "Yeah, about that. I'm sorry. Raging hormones."  
  
Hotaru rolled her eyes again.  
  
Ry stared at her shoes. "I hope this doesn't change anything between us."  
  
Hotaru shot a sideways glance at Ry, who responded with a surprised "What?!"  
  
"Nothing," Hotaru sighed and walked out of the room.  
  
Ry sighed as well and fell back onto the bed. She crawled under the covers and took a deep breath. She was so tired from the day's events; within minutes she was asleep.  
  
-*/-*/-*  
  
Hotaru sat down next to Shino on the couch. "Where IS everyone?"  
  
Shino wrapped a perfectly sculpted arm around Hotaru's waist. "Lina went to my place coz she wanted to see Satoshi and Amber went wit her coz she wanted to see Satoshi."  
  
"Oh, well. I guess we're alone tonight," Hotaru observed thoughtfully.  
  
"Yeah, I guess we are," Shino replied, feigning pensiveness.  
  
"I don't really wanna go to the dance tonight, Shino," Hotaru replied.  
  
"So, what do you wanna do?" Shino asked.  
  
"I don't know, whatever you wanna do," Hotaru said, looking up at him expectantly.  
  
"Ionno," Shino shrugged.  
  
Hotaru sighed.  
  
-*/-*/-*  
  
Ry woke up and looked at the bedside clock. She had slept for an hour. She felt somewhat refreshed as she got out of bed and walked over to Hotaru's closet. She picked out a black lace tank top and dark red leather pants. Hotaru had really stocked up on nice clothes. Ry promised herself she would get to the mall as soon as possible for a shopping spree.  
  
She walked downstairs and into the living room to find Shino and Hotaru making out on the couch. Ry sweat dropped and debated whether to disturb them or not. She decided to get something to eat and then, maybe the three of them could talk. She walked into the kitchen and rummaged through the refrigerator until she found something suitable.  
  
Hotaru walked into the kitchen and sat down on one of the stools. "Did you sleep well?"  
  
Ry nodded and sat down in front of her across the table. She slowly drank her orange juice.  
  
"So," Hotaru said, looking out the window behind Ry.  
  
"How did you know I was in here?" Ry asked.  
  
"Oh, I heard a noise coming from in here and got paranoid," Hotaru laughed nervously.  
  
"Surprised lover boy didn't come in here with you," Ry looked at Hotaru over the rim of her glass.  
  
"Is that a smart remark?" Hotaru said.  
  
"No. Just saying. What if something happened to you and there was someone dangerous in here?" Ry said.  
  
"I saw you from the door way and Shino didn't wanna come," Hotaru said, "so yeah."  
  
"Oh," Ry downed the rest of her orange juice and washed the glass.  
  
"Shall we?" Hotaru said and extended her arm.  
  
Ry sighed, "We shall." And hooked her arm through Hotaru's.  
  
They entered the living room and sat down for a long, long talk.  
  
-*/-*/-*  
  
"Well, glad that's over," Ry said as she looked at the clock. It was past two o clock at night.  
  
"Yeah, I'm glad we worked this out," Hotaru smiled and she and Ry hugged.  
  
Shino hung back, not wanting to disrupt a beautiful moment. Shino pouted.  
  
"Aw, do you want a hug, too?" Hotaru asked. When Shino nodded, she walked over and they embraced. Ry rolled her eyes.  
  
"Well, I'm going to bed," Ry said and walked back up to Hotaru's room. She had convinced Hotaru to let her sleep in her bed because it was so big and Ry had always wanted a big bed. And Hotaru was going to bunk in with Amber.  
  
-*/-*/-*  
  
Hotaru walked into the guestroom that Amber was going to sleep in.  
  
"Hey," Hotaru said and sat down on Ry's bed, where she was going to sleep for the night.  
  
"Hey," Amber smiled, coming out of the bathroom, "where's Ry?"  
  
"In my room, she wanted to sleep in my bed coz she likes it," Hotaru explained.  
  
"Oh, I see," Amber said.  
  
"Did you just get here?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Yeah," Amber said.  
  
"Oh," Hotaru stated, she was too tired to think about anything. She quickly changed into her silk pajamas and crawled into bed. She feel asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Amber shook her head and went to sleep as well.  
  
-*/-*/-*  
  
Shino cautiously opened the door and slipped inside. Just as cautiously, he closed the door behind him. It was 5 in the morning. All the thick curtains were drawn and the room was almost pitch black. The sun hadn't risen yet.  
  
Shino slowly walked over to the bed. He deftly picked up the covers and slipped inside. He wrapped his arms around the sleeping form of who he thought was Hotaru.  
  
"Mmm," Shino mumbled, and kissed her neck.  
  
Too late, he realized it wasn't Hotaru and the figure was waking up.  
  
"Shino?!" Ry whispered, opening her eyes warily and looked up at him. "Why do you mock me so?"  
  
"Dammit, I thought you were Hotaru," Shino muttered and sat up.  
  
"No, really," Ry said, and sat up as well, "what are you doing here?"  
  
"I thought you were Hotaru," Shino said, "Honest." And he put his right hand over his heart.  
  
The door opened again, and this time, Lina walked in. She stared at them with her mouth hanging wide open.  
  
"Uh oh," Ry whispered.  
  
Lina slowly backed up out of the room and Ry and Shino jumped out of the bed. Lina ran to Amber/Hotaru's room and Ry and Shino ran after her. They knew she would go to Hotaru and tell her what happened.  
  
"Wait, wait," Ry cried out, but too late. Lina rushed into Hotaru's room and locked the door behind her.  
  
"Holy. Fucking. Shit." Shino growled.  
  
"Screwed," Ry added.  
  
"HOTARU! DON'T BELIEVE HER!" Ry screamed out suddenly.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Shino pounded on Hotaru's door, "Don't believe her. She's lying!"  
  
-*/-*/-*  
  
"Mm, what's that noise?" Amber opened her eyes and sat up in bed.  
  
"I don't know," Hotaru said, rubbing her eyes and sitting up as well.  
  
They both stared at Lina, who was breathing hard and standing in front of the door with a look of panic on her face.  
  
"Hotaru--"  
  
"Lina, I think you should calm down," Amber said, getting out of bed.  
  
"Yeah," Hotaru added and got up as well.  
  
They stood in front of Lina, watching her breathe.  
  
"Okay, now, what's going on?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"Brace yourselves," Lina said dramatically, "I just saw Ry and Shino in bed together."  
  
Amber rolled her eyes, "Lina, they worked everything out. I'm sure this is a misunderstanding. Either that, or you're exaggerating."  
  
"It's true! I saw them!" Lina protested.  
  
Hotaru sighed. Why her? What the hell was going to happen now?  
  
"HOTARU! SHE'S LYING! I THOUGHT IT WAS YOU WHEN I WALKED INTO YOUR ROOM!" Shino said.  
  
Hotaru opened the door and looked at Ry and Shino. She waited for an explanation.  
  
"Well," Shino began, "I sneaked into your room and I thought it was you in the bed, not HER," he looked at Ry for emphasis.  
  
"I DO have a name, you know," Ry muttered.  
  
"Whatever," Shino said. "Not like we did anything."  
  
"Whatever," Hotaru took a deep breath, "I believe you."  
  
"Really?" Shino said, surprised. He was expecting another crisis to occur.  
  
"Yes," Hotaru said.  
  
"Cool," Shino smiled. Hotaru smiled, too.  
  
"I'm tired, I'm gonna go sleep now," Hotaru said, "In my OWN bed," she added, looking at Ry, who smiled sheepishly.  
  
Hotaru walked to her room and Shino followed.  
  
"And where do you think you're going?" Amber asked Shino.  
  
"Umm, I'm gonna tuck her in," Shino mocked. "Duh. What else?"  
  
Amber, Ry, and Lina rolled their eyes.  
  
/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*- /*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/  
  
AN: Right, use your imagination.  
  
*~Ice1taru~* 


	16. The End

Title: Hotaru's Love  
  
Chapter: 16  
  
Author: Ice1taru  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. I do not own Kylie Minogue or the song Love at First Sight.  
  
AN: Yeah, last chapter. Alright! It's funny that the duration of this story is like a week and in reality, it took me like two years to write it. Ha Ha.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Hotaru's Love by Ice1taru  
  
Hotaru drew the curtains aside and opened her balcony doors. She walked onto her balcony and leaned on the railing. The fresh morning breeze whipped her hair around and she hugged herself.  
  
She felt secure arms surround her waist.  
  
"You're up."  
  
"I woke up and you weren't there," Shino mumbled, hurt.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"It's alright. You can make it up to me."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Come back to bed." Shino said, placing gentle kisses on her neck.  
  
"Umm..."  
  
He carried her back inside.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
"I wonder what they're doing," Amber said, concerned.  
  
"Don't," Lina warned, "Last time I walked in on them, they were about to have their first kiss. What are so worried about anyway? Hotaru can take care of herself."  
  
"Hmm," Amber said, not convinced.  
  
Ry rolled her eyes and popped her gum.  
  
Lina and Amber both looked at her.  
  
After a moment's silence, Lina said, "What now?"  
  
"Nothing," Ry sighed.  
  
Lina rolled her eyes and changed the channel. Amber stared at Ry thoughtfully.  
  
"Dude, there's nothing on!" Lina exclaimed.  
  
"Duh, let's go do something," Amber suggested.  
  
"What do you wanna do?" Lina asked.  
  
"Let's go to the mall!" Amber jumped up excitedly.  
  
"Yay," Ry mumbled, popping her gum again, "the mall."  
  
"Killjoy," Lina muttered.  
  
They all got dressed and headed to the mall for an all-day shopping spree.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
"Hotaru," Shino whined, "Don't leave me."  
  
Hotaru rolled her eyes, and walked to her closet. "I'm just gonna change my clothes. I'm getting tired of this outfit."  
  
"Are you saying you're gonna change in here?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Like take off your clothes and stuff?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Cool."  
  
"Yeah. I can change as soon as you leave."  
  
Shino sweat dropped.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Amber walked out of the dressing room. "Well?"  
  
"It's electric blue," Lina said, shocked.  
  
"Yeah, and?" Amber countered.  
  
"ELECTRIC BLUE!" Lina said, "I bet you'll glow in the dark!"  
  
Amber rolled her eyes, "What do you think, Ry?"  
  
"Huh?" Ry came out of her reverie, "yeah, I agree."  
  
Amber sweat dropped and Lina rolled her eyes.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
"Hotaru," Shino said, "dammit, you've been in there forever."  
  
"Relax, give me a minute," Hotaru called out.  
  
She had finally picked an outfit and Sino was waiting outside her room for her. He was getting restless.  
  
"Open the door, open the door," Shino muttered.  
  
Hotaru opened the door and went back into her bathroom to fix her hair.  
  
"Finally," Shino said and followed her inside.  
  
"You're so impatient," Hotaru laughed.  
  
Shino looked at Hotaru. Immediately, he admitted to himself that he had the most beautiful girlfriend in town. She wore a deep pink lace spaghetti strap top. And light blue boot-leg low-rise jeans with black Reeboks. She wore her hair up.  
  
"Okay, let's go!" Hotaru exclaimed excitedly, grabbing her purse.  
  
"Where are we going?" Shino asked.  
  
"Oh, we're not going anywhere?" Hotaru pouted.  
  
"Eh, well, if you wanna go somewhere that bad, I guess we'll go," Shino said right away, "uhh."  
  
Hotaru sighed, "No, it's okay. I mean, whatever."  
  
Shino laughed, "Can we get together tonight?"  
  
"Um, sure."  
  
"Cool, coz I gotta get home and change and take care of some business," Shino said, offhandedly.  
  
"You're leaving?" Hotaru pouted again.  
  
"Yeah, but only for a little while baby," Shino said and cupped her face in his hands, "We'll see each other tonight. Drop by at eight, okay?"  
  
"Okay," Hotaru mumbled, reluctant.  
  
They kissed and Shino departed.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
"We're baaaack," Lina called out as she and Amber walked in. Ry, sulking, followed shortly.  
  
"Hey guys!" Hotaru got up, as they entered the living room.  
  
"Where have you been?" She asked.  
  
"Shopping!" Amber exclaimed, holding up shopping bags.  
  
"Without me?" Hotaru asked, pretending to be upset.  
  
"Well, you WERE busy," Ry pointed out, resentful.  
  
"What's that suppose to mean?" Hotaru said.  
  
"Locked door. Complete silence. In your room for like two hours. With a guy. I think you know what it means, Hotaru," Ry said.  
  
"I thought you said you weren't going to be BITTER about Shino and I," Hotaru retorted.  
  
"I'm not," Ry snapped.  
  
"Doesn't sound like it," Hotaru mumbled, looking away.  
  
"Whatever, I don't have to take this!" Ry stormed upstairs.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Lina said, after a long silence.  
  
Amber shrugged. Hotaru still looked upset.  
  
Lina sighed. All this arguing was so petty and unnecessary. Couldn't Ry and Hotaru see that a guy wasn't worth all this trouble?  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
Hotaru stood in front of Shino's door once more. She had changed again. This time, she wore a spaghetti-strap red dress that went four inches above her knees and black boots. Her hair was wavy this time, and she wore black hoop earrings. She also wore clear lip gloss and smoky blue mascara. She looked somewhat inadequately dressed for walking down the street alone at night. This was due to the fact that Lina had helped her pick out an outfit. But, just in case, Hotaru also wore a simple black leather jacket.  
  
Finally, she knocked on the door. At once, the door opened to reveal a smiling Shino. He wore a simple wife beater and black pants. He stared in awe for a moment at her revealing outfit but caught himself and she rushed into his arms. They stood there awhile, just holding each other and enjoying each other's presence. Finally, Shino leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. When they broke apart, He led her into the living room. It was brightly lit and there was a table set for two. There was a vase set in the middle of the table, with one single red rose in it. Hotaru gasped and looked at Shino, who smiled and told her that this was to make up for the dance that they had missed the night before.  
  
They embraced once more before sitting down for a nice, quiet dinner. No words were exchanged for fear of ruining the moment.  
  
After dinner, they watched Titanic and Hotaru debated spending the night with Shino. Alone.  
  
"Hotaru?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Spend the night with me," Shino whispered into her ear and wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"Ohh, here's my favorite part!" Hotaru exclaimed.  
  
Shino smirked and turned off the tv, "Hotaru?"  
  
"Umm, uhh. I.. Have to call Lina and tell her to uhh.. Cover for me," Hotaru stuttered and ran to the bathroom.  
  
Shino sighed and reached into his pocket. He toyed with the small packet in his pocket and licked his lips anxiously.  
  
THE END  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Just for this chapter, (and the story in general I guess) I want to draw attention to the following lyrics from the song Love at First Sight by Kylie Minogue:  
  
"It was love at first sight  
  
'cause baby when I heard you  
  
For the first time I knew  
  
We were meant to be as one"  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
AN: Oh yeah... hell yeah. Finally I finished. The only thing I'm concerned about is the ending. I don't think I ended it well.. Damn insecurities...........  
  
The One and Only *~Ice1taru~* 


End file.
